Buzz
The forensic experts in T. Rex Autopsy meticulously examine the reconstructed remains of the iconic carnivore.
Following the recent appearances of a dinosaur carcass in London, the National Geographic Channel is set to premiere T. Rex Autopsy this Sunday, June 7, at 9/8C. This two-hour special will feature a team of paleontologists and veterinarians dissecting a highly realistic model of the legendary Tyrannosaurus rex.
The term model hardly captures the essence of this recreated creature. Measuring 46 feet in length and 13 feet in height, it required over 10,000 man-hours to construct by the team behind Jabba the Hutt. Made from fiberglass and clay, the model boasts intricate, lifelike internal organs crafted from silicone and latex, complete with 34 gallons of artificial blood. Its intestines are filled with partially digested bones and artificially scented feces, designed to mimic the odor of badger.
Led by a four-member forensic team—paleobiologist Tori Herridge, veterinary surgeon Luke Gamble, museum curator Matthew Mossbrucker, and paleontologist Steve Brusatte—T. Rex Autopsy is both an educational and visceral experience. I had the opportunity to visit the set and speak with the experts about T. Rex anatomy and the process of creating such an accurate replica from ancient fossils.
“It’s challenging since we’re dealing with fossils that date back 66 to 67 million years,” explains Steve Brusatte, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh and a member of the autopsy team. “However, bones can reveal a surprising amount of information.”
For example, when Brusatte and his team dissect a reconstructed T. rex eyeball as large as a grapefruit, they’re not relying on pure speculation. The eye’s reconstruction is grounded in fossils of the sclerotic ring, a bony structure that encircles the eyeball and aids in muscle attachment. These rings have been discovered in various dinosaur fossils, including those of ichthyosaurs and theropods, the group to which T. rex belongs. It’s believed that the sclerotic ring enabled T. rex to focus on prey and adjust its vision between near and distant objects.
“The strongest evidence suggests that T. rex possessed highly effective binocular vision,” states John Hutchinson, a professor of evolutionary biomechanics at the Royal Veterinary College in London and a consultant for the show.
If modern reptiles are any guide, T. rex likely had the ability to see in color. Pair that with the largest olfactory bulb of any known creature, and you have a predator capable of locking onto and detecting prey from great distances. (This means you can forget about “standing still” as a strategy to evade a T. rex.)
The researchers examine the T. rex eyeball in detail.
What about the creature’s abdomen? How did the researchers construct a lifelike model of its internal organs, given that soft tissues like lungs rarely fossilize?
For clues, they turned to the living relatives of dinosaurs: birds. “We know many dinosaurs had air sacs similar to birds, as evidenced by the marks left on their bones where these sacs connected,” explains Brusatte, who has identified four known species of Tyrannosaur.
Unlike human lungs, this air sac system would have enabled T. rex to absorb oxygen more efficiently, suggesting a high metabolic rate. This also connects to another poorly understood aspect of T. rex anatomy—the rib-like gastralia bones. These structures would have shielded the dinosaur’s vulnerable underbelly from threats like triceratops horns. Additionally, they might have aided in the functioning of its advanced, multi-chambered lungs. Evidence of these bones comes from two specimens, nicknamed Bucky and Peck’s Rex, which were discovered with well-preserved gastralia.
In fact, we have a relatively comprehensive collection of T. rex fossils—around 50 skeletons that cover roughly 2 million years of the species’ evolution. The most renowned of these, nicknamed Sue, is also the most intact. Much of the model created by Nat Geo was based on a detailed scan of Sue’s skeleton, which is exhibited at the Field Museum.
The size of Sue’s ribcage served as the foundation for designing the heart model, though the final version required significant adjustments. “The initial heart sculpture was too large,” notes Hutchinson.
Most creatures have hearts that make up about 1 percent of their total body weight. However, when researchers designed a heart for the seven-ton T. rex, it was too large to fit inside the ribcage. This suggests that T. rex likely had a smaller, more efficient heart, similar to those found in birds.
Similarly, scientists can infer details about T. rex’s other organs by studying its closest living relatives. In crocodilians and most birds, digestion occurs in two stages. Since these animals don’t chew their food—whether it’s decaying meat or seeds—it is first broken down in the ventriculus, or gizzard. The remaining material then moves to a stomach chamber, similar to ours, where digestive enzymes take over. If both crocodiles and birds share this trait, it’s highly probable that T. rex did as well.
Hutchinson estimates that T. rex could have reached speeds of 15 to 25 mph, based on small indicators found throughout Sue's skeleton, which reveal 33 distinct muscle groups. One particularly powerful muscle group extended from the legs to the tail, driving the dinosaur forward and upward. Comparable to human glutes, each of these massive muscles weighed approximately 220 pounds. “That’s an enormous piece of meat,” Hutchinson remarks. “It’s among the largest muscles in any animal that ever lived.”
From its tail to its snout, the T. rex body is a marvel of nature. But is Nat Geo’s model entirely accurate? Almost certainly not. Scientists continue to debate specifics with every new fossil discovery. Still, there’s much to uncover this Sunday when experts dissect one of these creatures in a simulated autopsy.
As for the "cause of death" revealed in this autopsy: Let’s just say T. rex might have suffered a serious fall.
All images provided by the National Geographic Channel.
