How many tyrannosaurs lived on Earth - the most accurate data published

Tyrannosaurs are considered the most recognizablepredators of the ancient world. They lived about 70-66 million years ago and could reach 12 meters in length. Thanks to their powerful legs, they easily reached speeds of up to 19 kilometers per hour, which allowed them to always remain full. From 54 to 60 sharp teeth about 30 centimeters long, including the root, were placed in the mouth of a tyrannosaurus rex - these were one of the largest teeth in the history of land predators. In general, tyrannosaurs can be considered real monsters of ancient times. Paleontologists have always wondered how many of them lived on Earth during the 2.5 million years of their existence before the collision of our planet with an asteroid. In 2021, it was estimated that there were 2.5 billion Tyrannosaurs in the entire world. However, this number has been exaggerated - a more accurate number has recently become known.

The results of a new scientific work showed that there were more tyrannosaurs than people in the first half of the 20th century

How many tyrannosaurs lived on Earth

The fact that the total number of tyrannosaurs onThe Earth was 2.5 billion individuals, researchers from the University of California at Berkeley said in 2021. They got this number after applying a mathematical model that took into account many facts known about ancient predators. For example, in calculating the number of tyrannosaurs, their average body weight, population density, age of their sexual maturity, average number of eggs in each clutch, life span and survival rate were taken into account.

It is important to note, that scientists have not yet been able to find fossilizedremains of tyrannosaurus eggs. About how many eggs they laid in the nest can only be said based on what kind of clutch the relatives of tyrannosaurs had. Therefore, scientists still have only a rough idea of ​​​​the fertility of ancient predators.

Scientists still do not have reliable information about how many eggs the dinosaurs laid.

As a result of the calculations, it turned out that over 2.5 million years of existence, these predators have bred for 125,000 generations. Each generation consisted of an average of 20,000 individuals - it turns out that in total Approximately 2.5 billion tyrannosaurs lived in the world.

This is a huge number - the same number of people lived on Earth in the 1950s. But today the situation is different and we are already more than 8 billion people.

See also: Tyrannosaurus Rex was 70% bigger than previously thought

The number of tyrannosaurs according to 2023 data

Until now, it has been assumed that thetyrannosaurs numbered 2.5 billion individuals. But recently, researchers from Germany published the results of a new study in the scientific journal Palaeontology, which took into account more recent data on the fertility of tyrannosaurs. In particular, it turned out that each clutch of predatory dinosaurs contained fewer eggs, and not every cub survived to adulthood.

According to recent data, there were 1.7 billion tyrannosaurs living on Earth.

New calculations showed that the number of generations of tyrannosaurs was 90,000, and each of them had approximately 19,000 individuals. From this it turns out that there were about 1.7 billion tyrannosaurs in the world. One of the authors of scientific work in 2021paleontologist Charles Marshall approved the new findings. In response to a question from the authors of the publication Live Science, he said that his colleagues put forward a more realistic figure.

See also: Some dinosaurs hatched eggs like birds 74 million years ago

What were tyrannosaurs

But it is important to understand that this is not the final figure.Every year, scientists learn more and more new information about tyrannosaurs. For example, quite recently my colleague Andrei Zhukov said that these predators did not look like we imagine them. In particular, they did not walk around with their teeth bared - their main weapon was hidden behind their lips. This became known during the study of the teeth of a close relative of the tyrannosaurus - Daspletosaurus. They were in good condition, which means they were covered with something. According to scientists, the presence of lips was vital for tyrannosaurs - in order to remain sharp, they had to be well protected.

Scientists have reason to believe that the teeth of tyrannosaurs were hidden behind the lips

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Another feature of tyrannosaurs isthe presence of short front legs. For many years, scientists could not say exactly what they were needed for. But there are already at least three interesting hypotheses. First, the short forelegs may have been used to hold onto prey after an attack. Secondly, they could be used to hold females during mating. Third, the paws may have shrunk over the course of evolution. You can read more about all these assumptions in the article "Scientists explained why tyrannosaurs had short front legs."