Tyrannosaurus rex (or T. rex for short) is not just any dinosaur – it is the dinosaur, in the Lord of Knowledge. He is probably the only species of giant reptile that most of the world's population knows how to name (with a stinging insult to Brontosaurus, Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus, to name just a few), and starred in the Jurassic Park film series. However, some of the most common pieces of information people know how to tell about him are not exactly true. Perplexity shatters 5 myths about the legendary predator with great roars:
Myth 1: T. rex had poor
vision Contrary to popular belief, T. rex had excellent vision. Grapefruit-sized eyes allowed him to distinguish objects with five times more accuracy than a falcon and 13 times that of a human. His color diagnosis was also excellent, and he was able to distinguish more colors than humans – for example, ultraviolet light.
Myth 2: Chickens are direct descendants of T. rex
While it is true that all birds, including chickens, are descended from dinosaurs, T. rex is not a direct ancestor of chickens. Birds belong to a lineage of dinosaurs related to flying dinosaurs, while T. rex is more like too big a cousin to all birds.
Myth 3: T. rex had tiny, useless
arms Recent studies have shown that the T. rex's arms were strong in size and had a reasonable range of motion. They were probably used in a variety of behaviors, including cutting and grasping prey and communication between T. rexes.
Myth 4: T. rex lived alongside Stegosaurus
T. rex lived in the late Cretaceous, just before the impact of the asteroid that wiped out – at least indirectly – all dinosaurs about 66 million years ago. Stegosaurus and other popular Jurassic dinosaurs lived about 150 million years ago, so T. rex did not exist at the time.
Myth 5: T. rex was covered in gray or green
scales In recent years, the idea has been floated that T. rex was covered in feathers or fur – but it remains controversial, even among paleontologists. While there is evidence of feathers in many dinosaur species, the T. rex itself probably had a combination of scales and feathers.
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