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Yutyrannus — T. rex Ontogeny

#ontogeny #tyrannosaurus
Published: 2017-07-12 04:38:27 +0000 UTC; Views: 18163; Favourites: 368; Downloads: 130
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Description So today I finally got around to finishing this after several weeks of working on it: a chart to show the roughly complete ontogenetic sequence of Tyrannosaurus rex. All of the ontogomorphs depicted in this are based on specific specimens for which we know at least approximate ages. They are as follows:

2 year old- What I would refer to as a chick, this is based on MOR 6625, or "Chomper", the youngest T. rex specimen we have (or at least the youngest that is not in private hands; not much more to say regarding Chomper given the fragmentary nature of the specimen making it difficult to discern much of its anatomy, hence this reconstruction is mainly based on MPC-D 107/7, a very young T. bataar specimen (though given the extreme differences in ontogeny between the two species, that might not necessarily reflect reality). Full piece here: sta.sh/025or5rksp6a

3 year old- Based on LACM 28741, also known as “Jordan”, this specimen shows that juvenile 'rexlets' had elongate snouts and extremely long legs, in addition to being very slender overall. Based mainly on GetAwayTrike 's skeletal of the specimen. Full piece here: sta.sh/01ewuzm6sbmx

11 year old- As far as we can tell, not much really changed in these nine years, other than a slight increase in size a robusticity. This is primarily based on ScottHartman 's skeletal BMRP 2002.4.1, or "Jane" (before you ask, no "Nanotyrannus" is almost certainly not a valid genus, and even if by the very distant possibility it was, it would mean that there was another roughly T. rex sized tyrannosaurid in the ecosystem, which is in and of itself, very unlikely). These adolescent specimens show that individuals of this age were still very gangly and quite awkward looking, with long, lanky legs. They still possessed relatively blade like teeth compared to the adults. Full piece here: fav.me/dbcna19

13-14 year old- A growth stage that I find is very often overlooked, but also clearly shows the transition between younger, lanky individuals, and the massive and robust adults. These subadult animals are known from very few specimens, such as LACM 23845 (which this depiction is based on, in particular GetAwayTrike 's skeletal of it) and the slightly older MOR 1125, or B-rex. It is around this age that the, still skeletally immature, individuals reached sexual maturity, following the typical non-avian dinosaur pattern of beginning to reproduce years before being full size. Full piece here: sta.sh/01rrg7efmhbq

18 year old- Young adult, based on ScottHartman 's skeletal of BHI 3033, "Stan", which is also the basis for Saurian's adult rex. These adult specimens are already massive and extremely robust, with the crushing dentition and huge skull that Tyrannosaurus is infamous for, after a very short growth spurt in only around four years. The keratin on their skulls begins to become very rugose, and some specimens show a series of strange leaf shaped maxillary indentations noticed by WitmerLab, which may also be associated with some form of soft tissue, perhaps for display reasons. Full piece here: sta.sh/01gghsxao59h

29+ year old- These are the massive and extremely old specimens dubbed by the Saurian development team as "superadults". These specimens include the largest (note: in mass, tyrannosaurs seem to stop growing in length in their early twenties or so, and just get girthier/more rotund as they age) and most robust specimens of T. rex, including arguably the most famous: FMNH PR 2081. This reconstruction is based on ScottHartman 's skeletal reconstruction of the specimen. Animals of this age were likely breeding very little, and may even have been completely sterile as occurs in crocodylians 'superadults' today. The oldest specimens may even have eventually started becoming toothless. These specimens have extremely rugose skulls, much more so than the younger adult specimens do. Sue may actually be the youngest of these specimens, at 29 years of age, as the specimens "Trix", "Tristan", and "Scotty" all appear to be in their early to mid thirties. Full piece here: fav.me/dbc015h

T. rex goes through extreme changes not only physicially, but also ecologically as it ages, with the younger individuals occupying very different niches to the larger and more massively built adults. The niche differentiation between ontogomorphs of this species is extreme even for Tyrannosauridae (with the exception of Albertosaurus sarcophagus). What appears to be happening, as presented at the 2016 SVP meeting, is that tyrannosaurs that are coexisting with other tyrannosaur species (such as A. libratus and Daspletosaurus sp. in the Dinosaur Park Formation) go through much less drastic ontogenetic change, and greater niche differentiation between the species as a whole, whereas tyrannosaurs that are the only giant theropods in their ecosystem, like T. rex, go through much greater change and occupy more of the predatory niches in their ecosystems. This study is still unpublished, however it is mentioned here: fav.me/dan49zu
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Comments: 96

Yutyrannus In reply to ??? [2021-03-22 00:40:48 +0000 UTC]

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ThePokeSaurus In reply to Yutyrannus [2021-12-27 20:04:40 +0000 UTC]

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ThePokeSaurus In reply to Yutyrannus [2021-03-22 12:21:08 +0000 UTC]

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KostasGamer [2020-06-18 22:25:00 +0000 UTC]

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Yutyrannus In reply to KostasGamer [2020-06-19 01:01:07 +0000 UTC]

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grapejuice-dragoon [2019-10-14 08:18:33 +0000 UTC]

 smol boi, slightly bigger, medium chonk, mega chonk and ultra chonk  

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Kaijukid23 [2018-11-16 13:39:40 +0000 UTC]

Like how they aged slowly, unlike some animals. You may experience a true lifelong friendship if you have another T-Rex

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Kaijukid23 In reply to Kaijukid23 [2018-11-16 13:39:58 +0000 UTC]

*A pet

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Braindroppings1 [2017-11-20 17:42:20 +0000 UTC]

Nice work. How big was B-Rex any way? Any idea what a good rough estimate would be for its length and its height?

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Yutyrannus In reply to Braindroppings1 [2017-11-22 01:14:43 +0000 UTC]

Iirc she's somewhere around 10 metres or so, but I'm great with sizes

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Braindroppings1 In reply to Yutyrannus [2017-11-22 01:31:54 +0000 UTC]

Alright. I estimated her to be within the 6-9 metre range, judging by the size of the other specimens you based your T. rexes in the drawing on.

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kirkseven In reply to Braindroppings1 [2017-12-04 20:14:30 +0000 UTC]

Using its femur measurement of 115 cm according to Peter Larson's book, it should be between 10-11 meters long and over 3 meters tall at the hips.

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Braindroppings1 In reply to kirkseven [2017-12-05 02:41:58 +0000 UTC]

Okay, then.

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Yutyrannus In reply to Braindroppings1 [2017-11-22 01:35:55 +0000 UTC]

The chart probably doesn't reflect relative sizes too well, I did that almost completely by eye

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Braindroppings1 In reply to Yutyrannus [2017-11-22 01:39:31 +0000 UTC]

Alright.

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Libra1010 [2017-11-04 14:55:29 +0000 UTC]

 Splendid Work Yutyrannus! 

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Yutyrannus In reply to Libra1010 [2017-11-04 19:45:23 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Libra1010 In reply to Yutyrannus [2017-11-05 12:08:06 +0000 UTC]

 Thank You very kindly for sharing your work with us! 

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Yutyrannus In reply to Libra1010 [2017-11-05 19:06:58 +0000 UTC]

It's no trouble

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JPGuchiha [2017-10-28 19:10:32 +0000 UTC]

Is there any real evidence that says an adult T-rex had feathers?

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Yutyrannus In reply to JPGuchiha [2017-10-28 21:02:54 +0000 UTC]

Nothing other than phylogenetic bracketing currently. It's basically just artistic license to show them as feathered vs predominantly or entirely scaly at this point

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JPGuchiha In reply to Yutyrannus [2017-10-28 21:04:25 +0000 UTC]

Fair enough. Thank you for telling me.
I LOVE your artwork BTW.

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Yutyrannus In reply to JPGuchiha [2017-10-28 22:43:31 +0000 UTC]

No problem.

And thanks, glad to hear it

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JPGuchiha In reply to Yutyrannus [2017-11-05 15:49:26 +0000 UTC]

I'm happy to be a part of this community.

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SonofThunderCatholic [2017-09-23 16:44:51 +0000 UTC]

Nicely done! Well, I would just like to comment about some aspects shown in this art that still make people wonder if what you showed is true. You know, just to talk about it and maybe show somethings that you may not have realized before.

If the so called "Nanotyrannus" is or not a juvenile T. rex still creates debates to this day and many say that it was a separate species only because the juvenile would be just too different from the adult. While I once believed in this now I say this is not true. Lets just take a look at different sized horse/pony breeds (two large and two tiny ones): Clydesdale www.google.com.br/search?q=cly… , Shire www.google.com.br/search?q=shi… :, shetland pony www.google.com.br/search?q=she… , miniature horse www.google.com.br/search?q=min… After taking a great look at the adults and comparing them to the young individuals, we can clearely see that the smaller breeds resemble more their young versions than the larger ones (the young equines have larger heads in proportion to the overhaul body and the ponies have larger heads, if compared to their bodies, than the large horse breeds). Like this we can clearely see that the larger the animal means the more proportion changes can occur as it grows, so a 7 tonnish giant like T. rex looking like an adult albertosaurine when the young T. rex barely weights a ton is not so absurd after all.

Well I see you put a decent amount of feathers on this theropod, but what about the recent study that shows that tyrannosaurids (at least in North America) had scales on the chest (where you put feathers), for example? While the idea of feathered tyrannosaurids would not be absurd on all circunstances (after all Nanuqsaurus and "alaskan" gorgosauruses would just freeze if they were scaly), all T. rex specimens found to date were eighter on the US on in Southern Canada (that has similar temperatures to northern US), so I would avoid putting a great amount of feathers on a T. rex unless I wanted to make a ficticional subspecies.

Now the last thing I want to comment: why did you put teeth covering lips on it if a study about tyrannosaurid oral tissue determined that most of the snout was covered by highly keratinized skin, what would not allow large, soft, teeth covering lips to develop (and if it had large keratinized lips it would be barely able to bite)?

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Yutyrannus In reply to SonofThunderCatholic [2017-09-23 17:17:46 +0000 UTC]

I am fully aware of Bell et al. and its conclusions, and the feathering on these rexes accommodates the areas where scales are preserved just as well as any other. It is not necessarily what I consider the most plausible amount of feathering on Tyrannosaurus anymore, but it is still a reasonable 'high end' for feathering. As you will no doubt see by looking through my gallery, I have done many tyrannosaurs with varying levels of feathering, not so much because any of them represent what I personally think was the case, but to show people that there are still a great number of options and none are necessarily inaccurate. I went into detail about this already here: .


Now, as for the lips, I am equally familiar with the study which you are discussing, however a great deal of the paleontological community are unconvinced by its conclusions given the fact that they compared tyrannosaurids only to highly specialized animals which do not make good comparisons. Additionally, tyrannosaur jaws are physically incapable of closing completely due to the ectopterygoid and surrounding muscle anatomy, and thus lips are the only thing which would enable them to seal shut. Currently, lips are the most parsimonious depiction based on current data. I advise you give these a read
markwitton-com.blogspot.co.uk/…
markwitton-com.blogspot.co.uk/…
amateurpalaeontologist.blogspo…

Your comment that it would barely be able to bite is rather odd and patently untrue. As we can see in the vast majority of extant reptiles, lips do not get in the way of biting, so I haven't a clue where you would get this idea.

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SonofThunderCatholic In reply to Yutyrannus [2017-09-23 18:40:50 +0000 UTC]

I see your points about the feathers. What I was actually talking about the fact that you made the chest completely feathered while the same study shows scaly impressions on this area (and I am aware that feathers can develop between scales).

Well while I did not read all of three links (but I did read Mark Witton's post about lips and enamel erosion and the "head first" part), right now I would prefer to talk specifically about the ectopterygoid bone and the muscles issue: While I clearly see that it would not allow the jaw to close completely like what we see here qilong.files.wordpress.com/201… , since some muscles would be attached very close to such bone, you may not have tought about the fact that even with a lipless mouth it could not need teeth covering lips for the mouth to seal shut, since a great part of the teeth would be covered by gums (and thus by the keratinized tissue). Thanks to this it is possible for T. rex's mouth to seal shut depending on the size of the muscles themselves, and this varies depending on how sucessful the animal is.

I also have to criticize the point about comparing to specialized animals because the fact that they are specialized does not change the fact that the paleontologists found the same characteristics on a T. rex skull. The fact that they do not have the same niche does not mean they could not evolve similar characteristics.

And this "Second off is the lack of comparisons from other reptiles, such as lizards and turtles, and even mammals" is not better because, since it already scientifically proven that the rugosity of an alligator's skull is thanks to it's keratinized skin, comparing D. horneri with an average varanid would not be needed (and the rugosity in mammalian skulls is thanks to the attachment of lip muscles and overhaul face muscles that theropods lack). And we should also notice that the presence of large lips would not allow the sensory organs to work properly, since lips need their own nerves .

And my point about it being barely able to hunt is because in or4der to have such large lips it would need to have highly keratinized lips, unlike modern varanids who have average scales on their lips. This would make the lips too hard for it to effectively bite.

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Yutyrannus In reply to SonofThunderCatholic [2017-09-23 19:23:39 +0000 UTC]

Gums require moisture to be healthy, which would be quickly lost without lips to create a seal when the mouth is shut.

The issue is that ISO-like structures and lips are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and the lack of comparisons to better analogues among modern animals is extremely unuseful for determining whether or not this is the case. This is only a single paper, and considering just how many paleontologists have disagreed or remained skeptical of the claims (which I will note, are not even a point of focus in the paper), it is best, at least from my point of view, to wait and see what comes of rebuttals to this claim.

Only these are not large lips? This is a pretty conservative amount of soft tissue. Also I'm going to have to ask you for sources on the lips being 'too hard to effectively bite', because I have never seen any reliable source propose this.

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SonofThunderCatholic In reply to Yutyrannus [2017-09-23 23:43:53 +0000 UTC]

Not always. Some crocodylians may spend months without even touching water and still their gums are not damaged. Also many birds have gum like tissue on their mouths while at the same time not producing saliva.

In this case we then have to see what points they bring for justifying why they remain skeptical. And I really doubt that the lack of better comparations is a good point for this, because crocodylians are the only living animals who share the same characteristics with tyrannosaurids in this aspect (the hardened skin leaving marks on the bones) so we do not have much choice (and again: the fact that crocs are specialized is irrelevant because animals in two different niches may evolve similar characteristics).

It is a simple case of ratiocination: if the lips themselves were highly keratinized like a great part of the snout, they would simply be too hard for the animal to effectively bite. Now about the possibility of it having softer integument on the lips, then I doubt that such lips would be able to develop since almost the entire snout is keratinized as it was pointed out by Carr.

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KostasGamer In reply to SonofThunderCatholic [2020-06-18 22:28:08 +0000 UTC]

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SonofThunderCatholic In reply to KostasGamer [2020-06-30 18:45:52 +0000 UTC]

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SauropodQueen In reply to SonofThunderCatholic [2017-09-23 17:17:04 +0000 UTC]

I don't necessarily agree with the feathering on his Tyrannosaurus, but it is still very much plausible.

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SonofThunderCatholic In reply to SauropodQueen [2017-09-23 17:17:58 +0000 UTC]

Wich is why I talked about the tyrannosaurids that lived on relatively cold climates  

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SauropodQueen In reply to SonofThunderCatholic [2017-09-23 17:03:39 +0000 UTC]

Hahahahahahahahahaha no.

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SonofThunderCatholic In reply to SauropodQueen [2017-09-23 17:17:26 +0000 UTC]

Derp, herp derp yeeeeeeeeeeees

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AntonellisofbBender [2017-07-16 01:50:36 +0000 UTC]

WOW what a growth

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Yutyrannus In reply to AntonellisofbBender [2017-07-16 02:03:49 +0000 UTC]

Aye

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AntonellisofbBender In reply to Yutyrannus [2017-07-16 02:25:26 +0000 UTC]

i am just saying it as a good comment

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kirkseven [2017-07-15 20:22:15 +0000 UTC]

"Trix", "Tristan", and "Scotty" all appear to be in their early to mid thirties''

may i ask were you got that from?

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Yutyrannus In reply to kirkseven [2017-07-15 20:28:25 +0000 UTC]

Dave Hone's book

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kirkseven In reply to Yutyrannus [2017-07-15 21:10:21 +0000 UTC]

mind telling me which page?

i can't seem to find it xD

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Yutyrannus In reply to kirkseven [2017-07-15 21:28:14 +0000 UTC]

Just looked through it, my mistake it isn't in there, I must've gotten mixed up because that's where I got the info about Scotty being heavier than Sue. In that case I must've heard about the ages of those specimens from .

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kirkseven In reply to Yutyrannus [2017-07-16 05:32:55 +0000 UTC]

ok, thank you i will ask him about it.

Also.. Scotty apparently has more robust bones then that of any other Tyrannosaurus specimen including Sue, but its rib cage seems to be more narrow then that of Sue suggesting that its probably a bit lighter despite it being at least as long as Sue.
images.discordapp.net/.eJwNyME…

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Yutyrannus In reply to kirkseven [2017-07-16 05:37:22 +0000 UTC]

The Scotty being heavier thing definitely did come from Hone, so I'd be more inclined to trust him than the mount (especially given mounts' track record of messing up the articulation of the ribs...). What we really need is for someone to publish that thing already.

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kirkseven In reply to Yutyrannus [2017-07-16 05:48:15 +0000 UTC]

I think he may be referring to this : www.researchgate.net/publicati…

the paper uses femur regression to estimate the weights of the specimens.. however this method is probably unreliable seeing as Acrocanthosaurus came out as being ~2 tonnes using that method. On the whole rib issue, it is possible that Scotty's mounted rib cage is too narrow but i can't picture them being wide enough to make 'it' surpass Sue in mass.

Hone might be referring to something else though.

''What we really need is for someone to publish that thing already.''

Agreed... it seems like lots of cool/important things remain unpublished in paleontology for some reason..

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Yutyrannus In reply to kirkseven [2017-07-16 06:02:32 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, it's really frustrating. Then of course there are those things which are in the pipeline, but take forever to be published, and the people who know about them aren't allowed to discuss them because embargoes...

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Shaochilong66 [2017-07-15 19:47:39 +0000 UTC]

made me wet

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Yutyrannus In reply to Shaochilong66 [2017-07-15 20:28:14 +0000 UTC]

Hot

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Shaochilong66 In reply to Yutyrannus [2017-07-15 20:28:43 +0000 UTC]

it was quite wet actually

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ThatCoelurosaur [2017-07-13 15:20:28 +0000 UTC]

Looks amazing! And I don't know why, but the thought of a toothless, elderly tyrannosaur trying to gum a triceratops is hilarious.

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