Chances are you’ve seen a Tyrannosaurus rex on film or in a museum. But what if there’s something we’ve been led to believe about the famous dinosaur that’s wrong?
A new study in the journal Science shows T. rexes could have had thick, scaly lips covering its teeth, not exactly the fearsome, exposed choppers that typically come to mind. The study said that the dinosaur species could have looked more similar to modern Komodo dragons than crocodiles.
“T. rex, to me, is the iconic American dinosaur,” said Hans Sues, a paleontologist, curator and senior scientist with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in D.C.
“In science, you continuously get new information and have to adjust your ideas,” Sues said. He’s still in the camp that thinks T. rexes’ teeth weren’t hidden but admits some of his expert peers are building a case that could change how we perceive the prehistoric creature.
Ultimately though, Sues says the jury is still out. He told WTOP they’re looking for more fossils to give them a better clue.
“The hope is that for some dinosaurs the same age as T. rex, we’ve found what are called dinosaur mummies,” he explained.
“Dinosaur mummies” are found when a dinosaur has a more intact and more carefully preserved body that is buried in the earth. Discoveries of dinosaur mummies are being made more frequently, he says, particularly in parts of Asia such as Mongolia.
Finding a T. rex mummy would be the key discovery paleontologists need to bring the debate closer to the end, Sues says.
“It’s an interesting debate,” he mused. “I think the people who are most invested in this are those who do artwork depicting historical wildlife and time periods.”
In the meantime, Sues hopes the next Jurassic World or Jurassic Park movie will feature the same fearsome T. rex we know and love.