RE: Rigby's Tyrannosaur

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@geol.umd.edu>]

> Greetings all,
> I just watched an episode of Plaeoworld on the Science Channel
> where it was
> stated that Rigby's giant Tyrannosaurus rex tops out at 65 feet
> long. I was
> incredulous.

As well you should be...

> Is this an estimate, based on the legnth of the
> pelvis?

Estimate, or wild extrapolation...

> Or is it
> an accurate measurement of the skeleton as a whole?

What "skeleton as a whole"?!?!  Only a few parts were discovered, especially
as the folks who had started to collect it did so with a backhoe... :-S

> Has Rigby
> published his
> findings? I assume so, as this ended up on TV and all.

Ummm, no.  Do NOT assume because something is on TV that it has gone through
peer review!!  Far from it!

> Or is this
> still yet
> another "wait-for-the-paper" moment?

Yep.

                Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                Vertebrate Paleontologist
Department of Geology           Director, Earth, Life & Time Program
University of Maryland          College Park Scholars
                College Park, MD  20742
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/tholtz.htm
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/eltsite
Phone:  301-405-4084    Email:  tholtz@geol.umd.edu
Fax (Geol):  301-314-9661       Fax (CPS-ELT): 301-405-0796