I thought of a "crocodile version" of T. rex as of a slow, opportunistic swamp dweller. Could it be a plausible lifestyle for an old, giant T. rex individuals? Thank you, Tom
On Sun, Aug 11th, 2019 at 10:54 PM, Thomas Richard Holtz <tholtz@umd.edu> wrote:
> Please remember: Tyrannosaurus rex (and indeed most dinosaurs) did not
> exist only as fully formed adults emerged from the mind of Zeus. They spent
> most of their life cycle as juveniles and sub-adults.
Given the high mortality rate associated with R-strategists, it's likely the "average" tyrannosaur wasn't
very large at all (possibly not much larger than a hatchling). Very large tyrannosaurs are likely to be over-
represented in the fossil record due to preservational bias.
Tyrannosaurs seem to have reached sexual maturity well before reaching their maximum size, so having
few very large individuals in a population likely wouldn't have had much of an impact on their reproductive
success. Too many very large geriatric animals may well have been a burden on the population rather
than an advantage.
As to whether T.rex was leonine or crocodilian in nature; that depends on what you mean by 'crocodilian'.
In the past there have been plenty of swift and agile terrestrial crocodilians that make our extant varieties
look positively sluggish.