Tyrannosaurus study

For starters, I thought you all might enjoy the recent sketches I have been working on concerning two of the best specimens of Tyrannosaurus rex ever. Period. They are BHI 3033 and PR2081. Both are known better by their nicknames: STAN & SUE. Both specimens were excavated by the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research in western South Dakota in the early nineties.

STAN was found near Buffalo in Harding County and SUE was found near Faith in Ziebach county. STAN is well preserved in the skull, cervical vertebrate and the pelvic and leg region. SUE is the most complete tyrannosaur known to date, though bones belonging to STAN are still being excavated and could replace SUE as the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton in collection. The skull and skeleton of STAN has already been become the STANdard in tyrannosaur studies.

The illustrations below are as follows: SUE's skull in situ; the lower pelvic elements and legs of STAN and the right foot of STAN. The skull of SUE was draw roughly about three weeks ago while I was looking at an older photograph of her skull at the BHIGR. The legs were drawn soon after that based on another picture of a STAN mount. The foot sketch is the oldest. It was drawn rather speedily during the tyrannosaur symposium last year in Hill City, South Dakota.

© 2006 Kyle R. Lindsey

The skull of the Tyrannosaurus rex specimen FMNH PR2081, more commonly known as 'Sue.' The cranial material is drawn in the position that it originally laid in during its preparation by Terry Wentz. The muzzle is compressed ventrally immediately following the orbits due to geologic pressures. The massive block of siltstone to the right contains pelvic elements.

My favorite feature of this skull is the paleopathology found on the right side of the skull. Notice the abnormal swelling in the postorbital, excess bone growth that fills in the bottom half of the orbital, apparent case of exostosis of the jugal and the small lump on the ventral side of the angular. The Field museum's traveling exhibit for SUE says that there aren't any bite pathologies found on the skull but I say that is complete stierscheiße and they know it.

The hypothesis that tyrannosaurs were obligate scavengers because they are supposedly slow is completely arrogant of the osteological evidence. While tyrannosaurs may seem slow to us in a world filled with jet planes and Ferraris, it was certainly one of the fastest terrestrial animals for its size. Tyrannosaurids are characterized by long tibiae and metatarsi that bare a striking similiarity to the ostrich-like ornithomimosaurids.
And like ornithomimosaurids, tyrannosaurids also have what is called an arctometatarsus. An arctometatarsus is where metatarsal III forms a wedge distally, but pinches out proximally. This feature is unique and found in some ornithomimosaurs, deinonychosaurs, alvareszaurids, and oviraptorosaurs. An arctometatarsus has also been shown to be a good and natural shock absorber for fast running.