The incredibly well-preserved remains of a "real" Tyrannosaurus, named Titus, is set to be displayed in England - its first exhibit of the kind in more than a century.
Standing at a little over 13 feet (4 meters) and 36 feet (11 meters) long, Titus will be making his public debut at Wollaton Hall in Nottingham. The exhibit, Titus: T.Rex Is King, starts this July and is expected to run until August. The exhibit offers a variety of tickets and schedules for visitors, ensuring safety measures in line with the new normal.
15 April 2021, Bavaria, Denkendorf: Employees of the Dinosaur Museum Altmühltal work among original and reproduced bone fragments of a Tyrannosaurus rex, which are spread out on the floor in a cleared area of the museum. Over 300 bone fragments in various sizes have to be scientifically processed, determined, and assembled.
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A "Real" T-Rex Put on Display
The skeleton belonging to Titus was first discovered in the US state of Montana back in 2018. This particular specimen has been touted as a "real" sample because it contains actual bones traced to a Tyrannosaurus rex, known as among the fiercest predators of their time. Most T-rex exhibits and displays in museums are reconstructions based on available data or bones cast from real ones.
Although Titus' remains were only about 20 percent after conservation efforts, it still marked the first T-rex exhibit, including real bones. The rest of the colossal structure is a reconstruction using black obsidian. It is important to note, however, that there has never been a complete T-rex skeleton that has been excavated.
"Coming face to face with an actual T rex is an experience very few in the world can claim," says Rachel Evans, museums development manager at Nottingham City Museums, as reported by The Guardian. "Even in skeleton form, Titus' power and presence is unmistakable. We have had to dedicate the largest room at Wollaton Hall just to him alone."
Will Titus Answer the T-Rex Myths, Preconceptions?
In its website, the Titus: T.Rex Is King exhibit aims to raise awareness as well as having its visitors "learn the truth behind the myths about this iconic dinosaur - and perhaps decide if in fact he was covered in scales, feathers or both," referencing the longstanding debate on how the dinosaur actually looked like. As for the actual appearance of the Tyrannosaurus rex, there exist conflicting published studies on the matter. In 2017, a research paper on Biology Letters examines what was the only preserved T-rex skin fossil at the point. Researchers behind the study strongly suggest that the giant lizard was actually covered in scales and not feathers. However, 2 years later, the American Museum of Natural History opens an exhibit, "T.Rex: The Ultimate Predator," featuring the dinosaurs as having feathers.
While there are relatively few T-rex fossils discovered and no complete remains found, a recent study appearing in the journal Science establishes the abundance of these dinosaurs in the past. The study estimates that between 3.6 million years to 1.2 million years ago, there were an estimated 2.5 billion members of this species walking the face of the Earth over 127,000 generations. Out of these 2.5 billion or so, only the remains of about a hundred them have been discovered.
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