Titus (dinosaur)

Last updated

Titus
Titus the Tyrannosaurus rex, Wollaton Hall, Nottingham 02.jpg
Titus on display at Nottingham Natural History Museum on July 21, 2021
Catalog no.The original fossil is in private hands. Casts of the fossils are accessioned in the Nottingham Natural History Museum as NCMG 2021–7
Common nameTitus
Species Tyrannosaurus rex
Age67-66 million years
Place discovered Montana, United States
Date discovered2014
Discovered byCraig Pfister
Size comparison and view from the front Titus the T rex.jpg
Size comparison and view from the front

Titus is an obsidian black skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex discovered in the Hell Creek Formation, Montana, United States in 2014 and excavated in 2018. [1]

Contents

Titus was on display as the centrepiece of an exhibition at the Nottingham Natural History Museum, England, from July 2021 to August 2022. [2] According to the Nottingham City Council, it is also a rare instance of an actual Tyrannosaurus fossil leaving North America. [3] The exhibit includes 3D scanned replicas of the skeleton, which visitors can inspect and handle. [4] He is named after the protagonist in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus. [5] The owner of Titus remains anonymous. [1]

Description

The mounted Titus skeleton measures 4 metres (13 ft) high and 11 metres (36 ft) long. [2] It is named after the protagonist in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus . [5] The skeleton comprises 59 preserved elements, representing about 20% of the bones in an adult T. rex. [6] External bone inspection has revealed injuries to Titus' right tibia (possibly a claw or bite wound); a deformed toe on the right foot; and a bitten and healed tail. The bite wound near the end of the tail indicates a possible attack by another Tyrannosaurus. [5]

Discovery

In September 2014, commercial paleontologist Craig Pfister first discovered the remains of Titus near Ekalaka, Carter County, Montana. The site was an ancient river channel whence the specimen may have been transported in a flood event which also winnowed the skeleton and may in part explain why only 20% of the bones were preserved. [5] Pfister originally found a broken tibia, and said he knew right away that it belonged to a Tyrannosaurus rex, but was sidetracked by the discovery of a nearby Triceratops. [1] [6] Excavation of the specimen began in 2018, and took 18 months. [7]

Reconstruction and exhibition

Titus at Wollaton Hall in 2023 At Wollaton Hall 2023 041.jpg
Titus at Wollaton Hall in 2023

The bones of Titus were shipped to conservationist Nigel Larkin in the United Kingdom, who assessed and conserved the bones. Larkin reconstructed the mount using a cast of the Tyrannosaurus specimen Stan to supplement the known bones of "Titus", after scanning the bones using photogrammetry to create digital models that were 3D printed in gypsum for use in the exhibition, alongside the display of the real fossil skeleton. [4] [6] For the exhibit at the Nottingham Natural History Museum at Wollaton Hall, Titus was reconstructed "in a walking mode, perhaps searching for prey or returning home after a hunt." [5] The exhibition, titled "Titus: T. Rex is King", ran from 3 July 2021 to August 2022. [2] [6]

According to the museum, this is the first time that a "real" fossilised Tyrannosaurus rex has been shown in England for more than 100 years. [3] [8] [upper-alpha 1] According to the Nottingham city council, it is also a rare instance of an actual Tyrannosaurus fossil leaving North America. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Tyrannosaurus</i> Genus of Late Cretaceous theropod

Tyrannosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The type species Tyrannosaurus rex, often shortened to T. rex or colloquially T-Rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It lived throughout what is now western North America, on what was then an island continent known as Laramidia. Tyrannosaurus had a much wider range than other tyrannosaurids. Fossils are found in a variety of rock formations dating to the latest Campanian-Maastrichtian ages of the Late Cretaceous period, 72.7 to 66 million years ago. It was the last known member of the tyrannosaurids and among the last non-avian dinosaurs to exist before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyrannosauridae</span> Family of dinosaurs

Tyrannosauridae is a family of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs that comprises two subfamilies containing up to thirteen genera, including the eponymous Tyrannosaurus. The exact number of genera is controversial, with some experts recognizing as few as three. All of these animals lived near the end of the Cretaceous Period and their fossils have been found only in North America and Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wollaton Hall</span> Historic house museum in Nottingham, England

Wollaton Hall is an Elizabethan country house of the 1580s standing on a small but prominent hill in Wollaton Park, Nottingham, England. The house is now Nottingham Natural History Museum, with Nottingham Industrial Museum in the outbuildings. The surrounding parkland has a herd of deer, and is regularly used for large-scale outdoor events such as rock concerts, sporting events and festivals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Museum of Natural History</span> Natural history museum in Washington, D.C.

The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. With 4.4 million visitors in 2023, it was the second most-visited museum in the United States.

<i>Gorgosaurus</i> Genus of tyrannosaur dinosaur

Gorgosaurus is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in western North America during the Late Cretaceous Period (Campanian), between about 76.6 and 75.1 million years ago. Fossil remains have been found in the Canadian province of Alberta and the U.S. state of Montana. Paleontologists recognize only the type species, G. libratus, although other species have been erroneously referred to the genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naturalis Biodiversity Center</span> Dutch natural history museum and research center

Naturalis Biodiversity Center is a national museum of natural history and a research center on biodiversity in Leiden, Netherlands. It was named the European Museum of the Year 2021. Although its current name and organization are relatively recent, the history of Naturalis can be traced back to the early 1800s. Its collection includes approximately 42 million specimens, making it one of the largest natural history collections in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of the Rockies</span> General History Museum in Montana, United States

Museum of the Rockies is a museum in Bozeman, Montana. Originally affiliated with Montana State University in Bozeman, and now also, the Smithsonian Institution. The museum is largely known for its Paleontological collections as well as having the largest collection of North American Dinosaur fossils in the United States. They also possess the largest Tyrannosaurus skull ever discovered, as well as the thigh bone of a Tyrannosaurus rex that contains soft-tissue remains. The museum is part of the Montana Dinosaur Trail and is Montana's official repository for Paleontological specimens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burpee Museum of Natural History</span> Museum in Rockford, Illinois, US

The Burpee Museum of Natural History is located along the Rock River in downtown Rockford, Illinois, United States, at 737 North Main Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science</span> Science museum in New Mexico, U.S

The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science is a natural history and science museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico near Old Town Albuquerque. The Museum was founded in 1986. It operates as a public revenue facility of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sue (dinosaur)</span> Very complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossil

Sue is the nickname given to FMNH PR 2081, which is one of the largest, most extensive, and best preserved Tyrannosaurus rex specimens ever found, at over 90 percent recovered by bulk. FMNH PR 2081 was discovered on August 12, 1990, by American explorer and fossil collector Sue Hendrickson, and was named after her.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geological Museum of China</span> Geology Museum in Beijing, China

The Geological Museum of China, built in 1916, is a geological museum, boasting 200 thousand specimens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stan (dinosaur)</span> Tyrannosaurus rex specimen

"Stan", also known by its inventory number BHI 3033, is a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil found in the Hell Creek Formation in South Dakota, just outside of Buffalo in 1987, and excavated in 1992. It is the fifth most complete T. rex fossil discovered to date, at more than 70% bulk. In October 2020, the fossil was sold for $31.8 million at auction, making it the most expensive dinosaur specimen and fossil ever sold. In March 2022 Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism stated that they had acquired Stan and were planning on displaying the fossil at a new museum of natural history scheduled to open in 2025.

Specimens of <i>Tyrannosaurus</i>

Tyrannosaurus is one of the most iconic dinosaurs and is known from numerous specimens, some of which have individually acquired notability due to their scientific significance and media coverage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T.rex Discovery Centre</span>

The T.rex Discovery Centre is a natural history museum located in Eastend, Saskatchewan, Canada, and housed in a building designed by Stantec. The T.rex Discovery Centre was opened to the public in 2001, and was intended to house a number of fossils, including the remains of a Tyrannosaurus nicknamed "Scotty" which was found nearby in 1991. Management of the T.rex Discovery Centre was assumed by the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trix (dinosaur)</span> Tyrannosaurus rex specimen

Trix is a Tyrannosaurus rex specimen excavated in 2013 in Montana, United States by a team of paleontologists from the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, the Netherlands and Black Hills institute of Geological Research in South Dakota. This Tyrannosaurus, over thirty years old – the oldest known Tyrannosaurus specimen – lived about 67 million years ago. It is considered to be the third most complete Tyrannosaurus found, with between 78% and 80% of its bone volume recovered. The specimen was named Trix after the former Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. It is one of only two Tyrannosaurus specimens on permanent exhibit in mainland Europe. The other one is a specimen named Tristan on exhibit at the Natural History Museum of Berlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mace Brown Museum of Natural History</span> Natural history museum in South Carolina

The Mace Brown Museum of Natural History is a public natural history museum situated on the campus of The College of Charleston, a public liberal arts college in Charleston, South Carolina. Boasting a collection of over 30,000 vertebrate and invertebrate fossils, the museum focuses on the paleontology of the South Carolina Lowcountry. As an educational and research institution, the museum provides a unique resource for teaching and internationally respected research activities conducted at The College of Charleston. Admission to the museum is free, and donations are welcome. The museum has the holotype specimens of Coronodon, Cotylocara, and Inermorostrum, as well as the reference specimen of Ankylorhiza tiedemani

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big John (dinosaur)</span> Auctioned Triceratops fossil

Big John is a fossilized Triceratops horridus skeleton discovered in South Dakota's Hell Creek geological formation in 2014. It is the largest known Triceratops skeleton, according to the team that assembled the fossil. Big John's 2021 auction price of €6.6 million made it the most expensive Triceratops skeleton; its high price signaled increasing demand for dinosaur fossils among private collectors and prompted discussion about the drawbacks of private fossil ownership for scientific research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scotty (dinosaur)</span> Dinosaur specimen

Scotty is the nickname for the Tyrannosaurus rex fossil, catalogued as RSM P2523.8, that was discovered in Saskatchewan, Canada in 1991. The fossilised remains were painstakingly removed, almost completely by hand, over two decades from the rock in which they were embedded. When the preparation was complete in 2011, a ~65% complete T. rex skeleton was revealed.

References

Notes

  1. According to the National Geographic, the T. rex specimen Trix went on display briefly in Glasgow, Scotland, in the summer of 2019. In England, the holotype of Dynamosaurus imperiosus , now regarded as a specimen of T. rex, is accessioned at the Natural History Museum, London, where only the lower jaw is on display.

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Ingram, Simon (12 May 2021). "'Titus' the T. rex is coming to the UK this summer. Here's why it's a big deal". National Geographic . Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Murray, Jessica (3 July 2021). "'Real' T rex goes on show in England for first time in over a century". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 3 July 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "Nottingham's Wollaton Hall to host T. rex fossil in exhibition". BBC News . 28 April 2021. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Mounting the skeleton of 'Titus' the Tyrannosaurus rex". Natural-History-Conservation.com. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Burnham, David A.; Rothschild, Bruce M.; Nudds, John R. (2021). "A Paleontological Study of a New Specimen of Tyranosaurus rex Named "Titus" Nottingham Natural History Museum Specimen #NGMG 2022-7" (PDF). Wollaton Hall. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Larkin, Nigel R.; Dey, Steven; Smith, Adam A.; Evans, Rachael (2022). "21st Century Rex: maximising access to a privately owned Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton in the digital age" (PDF). Geological Curator. 11 (6): 341–354. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 April 2023.
  7. Pinchess, Lynette (1 July 2021). "Real T. Rex descends on Nottingham in a world exclusive". NottinghamshireLive. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  8. Chao-Fong, Leonie (3 July 2021). "First Tyrannosaurus rex to be exhibited in England for more than a century". The Independent . Archived from the original on 3 July 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2022.