Forget Rex: Meet Tyrannosaurus Sue
Sue Hendrickson HAS DONE SO MANY COOL THINGS IN HER LIFE (AND WE PLAN TO TEACH YOU ABOUT ALL OF THEM). BUT LETS START WITH HER DISCOVERY OF ONE of the largest Tyrannosaurus rex skeletonS TO ever BE UNEARTHED.
Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton called Sue in The Field Museum in Chicago. Photo by Petr Kratochvil. Used under CC0 1.0
Sue Hendrickson had spent the summer of 1990 on a fossil dig in South Dakota, America. On the day the team was meant to leave the site their departure was delayed by a flat tire on their truck. So, while others remained behind to fix the tire, Hendrickson went for a walk to look at some cliffs that they had not explored during their stay. It was on this stroll she discovered the bones of what would become known as ‘Tyrannosaurus Sue’. T-Sue (as we like to call her) turned out to be one of the largest and most complete T. rex skeleton ever found! She was over 12m long from the top of her head to the tip of her tail, and had teeth up to 30cm long.
Given that T-Sue was a great predator it doesn’t come as a surprise that her life was a bit rough-and-tumble! She had suffered multiple injuries (three broken ribs, a torn tendon in her right arm, damaged shoulder blades), infections (in her left leg and her skull) and even arthritis. We do not know how she died, but we know it happened when she was around 28 years old, as she stood along the edge of a stream. This is rather lucky for us - her location lead to her body being covered in water and mud, which prevented other animals from carrying her bones away. As a result, over 90% of her skeleton was preserved, waiting 67 million years to be discovered.
Had the events not unfolded as they did scientists may have been prevented from finding one particularly important bone - the furcula.
“Say what now?” I hear you ask.
The furcula, commonly known as the wish bone, is found in modern birds. T-Sue was the first Tyrannosaurus rex to be found with this bone present, providing support for the theory that modern birds evolved from dinosaurs like T-Sue. (Something you can learn more about in the attached video “The Origin of Birds’ featuring paleontologist Julia Clarke).
It is important to note that while we like to refer to T-Sue as a ‘she’ we will likely never know if the fossil is that of a male or a female. But she will forever be known as ‘Sue’, in honour of the woman who found her. So why not make like Sue Hendrickson - turn off your computer, get outside and go for a walk. Who knows what you might discover ;)
What you know now!
‘Tyrannosaurus Sue’ is the name given to a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton found in 1990
The fossil was named after explorer and fossil collector Sue Hendrickson
Tyrannosaurus Sue is the most well-preserved T. rex skeleton ever discovered.
The furcula of T-Sue was the first to ever be found on a T. rex and is important to the study of evolution
References:
A Fresh Science Makeover for SUE