The total number of tyrannosaurus rex How ever to roam the Earth has been recalculated by scientists, with new research revealing 1.7 billion of those dinosaur Kings have existed throughout the history of our planet.
In April 2021, a study was published in the journal Sciences (Opens in a new tab) appreciate it up to 2.5 billion t-rex individual He lived between 68 and 65.5 million years ago, when he wandered the Earth. But a new study published on April 18 this year in the journal Paleontology (Opens in a new tab)challenged that number, suggesting that the actual figure may be closer to 1.7 billion.
Study author Eva Gribler (Opens in a new tab)an evolutionary ecologist at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany, told Live Science that her new model took into account information about t-rex which the authors of the original study omitted, resulting in a lower number.
The result is a more comprehensive study that improves on the original team’s work. Charles Marshall (Opens in a new tab)The UC Berkeley paleontologist and lead author of the 2021 study told Live Science.
Related: Never-before-seen ‘fearful’ tyrannosaurus may be ‘missing link’ in T. rex evolution
In the original study, Marshall’s team created a complex model that took into account a number of different variables—such as average body mass, population density, approximate geographic range, age of sexual maturity, number of eggs laid, life expectancy, and survival and reproductive rates. Time – to estimate how much t-rex They can live side by side. The model revealed that all t-rex The generation likely consisted of about 20,000 individuals and that there were about 125,000 generations in the 2.5 million years of their existence – meaning 2.5 billion T-Rex in total.
But Griebeler disagreed with some of the statements attributed to this model. She believed that Marshall’s team overestimated survival rates and egg-laying capabilities t-rexas well as the number of generations that existed during this time, which skewed the results.
Research by Griebeler Published shortly after the original study (Opens in a new tab) It found that these values were likely more similar to those seen in modern birds and reptiles. When these values were calculated in an updated model, it revealed that there were 19,000 individuals in each t-rex generation and that there are only about 90,000 generations, meaning the maximum number of t-rex In existence was 1.7 billion.
The original study was the first to estimate the number t-rex He lived off the land and was “motivated in part by pure curiosity,” said Marshall. It was like asking, “How many stars are in the sky,” he added. As a result, the team was happy to come up with a decent estimate at all. But Marshall said the researchers are pleased that it has now been updated to a “more realistic” estimate.
Regardless of the exact number, both studies raise an interesting question – where does each t-rex bones? If Griebeler’s predictions are correct, that means we’ve only found the remains of 0.0000002% of these giant dinosaurs. This is an important question that requires more research, Gribler and Marshall said.
Our understanding of t-rex It is constantly changing. In recent years, numerous discoveries about this species have changed what we know about the long-dead dinosaur kings.
In November 2022, one of the research groups predicts that it will be the largest t-rex to ever walk on earth 70% larger than the largest known t-rex Fossil “Scotty”. And in April 2021, another group revealed that the species’ top speed was likely around 3 mph (5 km/h), It is the same speed as a person walking. And other discoveries indicated the existence of giant dinosaurs as well Noisy like modern birds And They hid their teeth behind a thin pair of lips.