Plants & animals
Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton
Palaeontology · Theropod dinosaur
Open the interactive 3D model →
How did an animal as heavy as an elephant and a half walk on just two legs without tipping over?
Tyrannosaurus rex was a meat-eating dinosaur about 12 m long that lived about 66–68 million years ago. It walked on two long legs with its back level, like a seesaw balanced on its hips: the huge head in front, the long tail behind. Its skull was full of holes to save weight, yet its bite could crush bone.
Tyrannosaurus rex was one of the largest land predators known: a two-legged theropod dinosaur about 12 m long that lived in western North America at the very end of the Cretaceous, about 68–66 million years ago. Its skeleton shows how a huge head, a level body balanced over the hips by a long tail, and long, bird-like hind limbs worked together.
Key facts
- Age
- Late Maastrichtian, ≈ 68–66 million years ago
- Length (large adults)
- ≈ 12–12.5 m (FMNH PR 2081 “Sue” ≈ 12.3 m)
- Hip height
- ≈ 3–4 m
- Body mass
- ≈ 7–9 t for the largest specimens (estimates vary)
- Skull length
- ≈ 1.4–1.5 m
- Teeth
- ≈ 50–60, replaced throughout life
Parts you can explore (12)
- Skull
- Lower jaw
- Teeth
- Neck vertebrae
- Back vertebrae
- Ribs & gastralia
- Pelvis
- Forelimbs
- Hindlimbs
- Tail
- Human for scale
- Mount
In the 3D model
Rotate and take apart the model, follow a guided tour of what each part does and why it’s needed, change it with a live slider, and test yourself with a short quiz. Free, no sign-up.
Open Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton in 3D →
OpenArc Models’ models are simplified teaching schematics. Terms · Privacy