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last mo.

Tyrannosaurus Rex Had a Human‑Like Body Temperature, Study Finds

Using a refined, minimally destructive clumped‑isotope test on tooth enamel, researchers report a precise internal temperature that indicates the sampled T. rex individuals were warm‑blooded.

In the new study, researchers analyzed fossilized teeth, including two from Thomas the T. rex.
UCLA researchers have developed a “prehistoric thermometer method” which uses bones to measure whether extinct animals are warm-blooded or cold-blooded | Representative Image

Overview

  • Researchers report an enamel‑based internal temperature for Tyrannosaurus rex of about 36°C (97°F) based on clumped‑isotope analysis, a value comparable to modern large mammals and humans.
  • The team used a decade of method improvements to cut required enamel sample size by roughly 90 percent, allowing minimally destructive drilling of three fossil teeth, two taken from the mounted T. rex specimen known as Thomas.
  • As a geological control, five crocodilian teeth from the same Montana site yielded cooler temperatures around 88°F, which supports the interpretation that the T. rex readings reflect biology rather than post‑burial chemical change.
  • If representative, a stable internal temperature near 36°C implies higher metabolism, greater food needs, sustained activity levels, and a physiologic ability to live in cooler latitudes such as ancient Alaska.
  • Authors caution the result applies only to the tested specimens because of the small sample size and urge broader application of the enamel method to other fossils to test how widespread endothermy was among dinosaurs.