Study suggests 1.7 billion Tyrannosaurus rexes existed in the past

New research reveals that the total number of dinosaurs Tyrannosaurus rexes that inhabited Earth has been recalculated by scientists.

According to a recent study published in paleontology magazine, it is estimated that around 1.7 billion of these awe-inspiring dinosaurs have lived throughout our planet's history.

This estimate challenges a previous study, published in the journal Science in April 2021, which suggested an even higher number of up to 2.5 billion T. rex roaming the world between 68 and 65.5 million years ago.

The new data provide fascinating insight into the abundance of these dinosaur kings and their presence on prehistoric Earth.

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According to Eva Griebeler, study author and evolutionary ecologist at Johannesburg University Gutenberg of Mainz, Germany, the new model used in her research included crucial information about the T. rex that were ignored by the authors of the original study.

This additional information led to a reduced estimate of the number of Tyrannosaurus rexes that inhabited Earth.

The inclusion of this previously unconsidered data provided a more accurate view of the population of these iconic dinosaurs over time.

Charles Marshall, paleontologist at the University of California, Berkeley and lead author of the original study published in 2021, said the new study represents a significant improvement over the work of his team.

He acknowledges that Eva Griebeler's research provided a more complete study, incorporating additional information that contributed to a more accurate estimate of the number of Tyrannosaurus rexes that existed throughout the history of the Earth.

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Research suggests that there were fewer T. rex than was imagined

Griebeler expressed his disagreement with certain data used in Marshall's model.

She argued that Marshall's team overestimated T. rex, in addition to estimating a greater number of generations during the period in question.

The scientist published research that found that the survival rates and laying ability of T. rex were more similar to those seen in modern birds and reptiles.

Using these values ​​in an updated model, she concluded that there were about 19,000 individuals in each generation of T. rex and only about 90,000 generations in total, which resulted in a peak number of 1.7 billion T. rex that once lived on Earth.

Indeed, the question of the whereabouts of the T. rex is intriguing. If we consider the estimates mentioned in the studies by Griebeler and Marshall, the fossil remains that have been discovered represent only a small fraction of the total population of T. rex that ever existed.

This suggests that there is much more to be discovered and that the scarcity of fossils may be related to factors such as preservation. selective over geological time, the distribution of habitats in which these dinosaurs lived and the processes of fossilization.

More research and exploration is needed for a complete understanding of the preservation of T. rex and to reveal more fascinating information about this iconic species. Meanwhile, we go with a lower estimate than what science thought.

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