Hendrickson spotted a few large vertebrae jutting out of an eroded bluff and followed her hunch that there were more beneath the surface. rex is named for Sue Hendrickson, who discovered the dinosaur in 1990 during a commercial excavation trip north of Faith, South Dakota. After examining these rings, scientists also determined that SUE had an adolescent growth spurt-gaining as much as 4.5 pounds per day-and reached full size at age 19.) (How do we know? Dinosaur bones have growth rings, just like trees. And before settling into the luxurious life of a well-kept Chicago museum attraction, SUE had quite the history!ĭating back to the Cretaceous period-about 67 million years ago-this massive predator lived to the upper end of the life expectancy of a T.
This specimen has been invaluable to the paleontological community since its discovery. But there’s a lot more to SUE’s story than 280 characters or a passing glance might offer. Or you might treasure that selfie you snapped with this fearsome fossil looming overhead. You may know SUE as the hilarious, pun-loving dinosaur turning Twitter into a personal smorgasbord.
