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I.
Inside the head of T. rex
Remarkably,
the skull of the type specimen of Tyrannosaurus rex — arguably
the most famous of all dinosaurs — had never been scientifically
studied. Shortly after the first skeleton of this large predator
was collected by the famous dinosaur hunter Barnum Brown in 1902,
its skull and skeleton were reconstructed for exhibit at the American
Museum of Natural History in New York. The skeleton was sold to
Carnegie Museum of Natural History in 1942 .
Unlike
most dinosaur specimens on exhibit in Dinosaur Hall, the skull
of T. rex was, for the most part, sculpted out of plaster
and contained only a few original bones and teeth. Later discoveries
of more complete skulls of this dinosaur showed that this reconstruction
was incorrect. Therefore, the skull was carefully dismantled
by experienced preparators to expose, clean, and conserve the
original bones and teeth, which, for the first time, were
studied by paleontologists. After this study has been completed,
the bones and teeth were inserted into a new reconstruction
based on the more complete skulls of T. rex that have
been discovered since 1902.
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