T. Rex Had a Body Temperature of 97 Degrees, UCLA Study Shows

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Science Desk

In Short: UCLA scientists have discovered that T. rex had a body temperature of 97 degrees Fahrenheit, nearly the same as humans.

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UCLA scientists have perfected a method to measure a dinosaur’s temperature from its teeth, revealing that T. rex had a body temperature of 97 degrees Fahrenheit, almost the same as humans, according to a study published by Newsroom.

The key to taking T. rex’s temperature lies in a chemical bond, as explained by UCLA geobiologist and study co-author Robert Eagle. This breakthrough allows researchers to understand more about the physiology of these ancient creatures.

‘No one’s been able to make a temperature measurement like this before,’ Eagle said, highlighting the significance of the findings. The study, which used fossils from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, confirms that T. rex was a fast-moving predator or scavenger, not a slowpoke.

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But even in the baking heat of the Cretaceous Period, winter in Alaska would have been too frigid for a cold-blooded dinosaur, Chiarenza said.
When picturing a scaled, toothy Tyrannosaurus rex stomping across North America, building nests and eating other dinosaurs, it’s easy to forget that scientists have gleaned everything we know about T.

Sources

Newsroom | UCLAlink