It got Tyrannosaurus wrecked.
Even the King of the dinosaurs wasn’t safe during the Cretaceous. Analysis of the largest T. Rex skeleton ever discovered revealed that its owner died of a rib injury sustained during a battle with another dinosaur some 66 million years ago.
Found in 1991 in prehistoric Saskatchewan, Canada, the impressive specimen, dubbed Scotty, had reportedly measured a record 43 feet long and was estimated to weigh around 19,500 pounds when alive — the size of two elephants.
However, the fossil’s most unique attribute was that there was still literal meat on the bone — something almost never observed in paleontology, Science Alert reported. Most specimens’ tissue disintegrates due to the ravages of time.
Due to the fragile nature of the remains, paleontologists had to formulate a way to inspect the preserved flesh without damaging it. So they subjected the fossil to neutron imaging with the help of researchers at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee.
Using this novel method, the paleontologists were able to build detailed 3D images of Scotty’s rib and its remaining tissue that allowed them to examine it on a microscopic level.
“It’s like winning the lottery,” said Mauricio Barbi, professor of physics at the University of Regina (U of R) in Saskatchewan, Canada, said in a statement. “Scotty’s rib contains a vast network of mineralized blood vessels that has never before been observed in a fossil.”
Through this prehistoric autopsy, these fossil forensics experts determined that Scotty had died from injuries sustained during a brawl with another dinosaur.
When the apex predator got its rib cracked, tiny blood vessels formed around the wound to expedite healing. Unfortunately, this natural salve formed too little too late as Scotty perished in a Canadian salt marsh shortly thereafter.
Despite the mighty hunter’s tragic end, researchers hope to use neutron imaging and other novel methods to crack more prehistoric capers.
“There are more fossils than you think sitting in collections, hiding secrets from millions of years ago,” said Jerit Mitchell, a U of R doctoral candidate in physics who heads the project under Barbi’s direction.
The researcher said that such techniques allow them “to make new discoveries about ancient life like never before.”
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