Fossil skeleton of Tyrannosaurus rex

© Corbin17/Alam

King of the dinosaurs

No other dinosaur has quite the notoriety of the Tyrannosaurs rex. The species gained widespread popularity in 1905, when US publication The New York Times article hailed it ‘the king of all kings in the domain of animal life’, and the ‘absolute warlord of the earth’. The so-called ‘tyrant lizard’, has been a star ever since, regularly appearing in film, TV, literature, and - for some of us - nightmares. Today’s date is significant in the history of Tyrannosaurs scholarship, because it was on August 12, 1990, that one of the largest, best-preserved, and most complete T-rex skeletons was unearthed. It’s known as Sue, named after palaeontologist Sue Hendrickson, who discovered it in the badlands of South Dakota while a tire of her truck was being fixed. ‘Sue’ was auctioned off for US$8,000,000 and is now on display at Field Museum in Chicago, where anyone can come in for a close encounter. Rawwr!