Tyrannosaurus rex, tyrannosaurus, or t-rex for short, is one of the most popular dinosaurs. Fossil evidence depicts a creature who lived like other predatory animals who hunt in order to survive. Which is why paleontologists often assume tyrannosaurs were hunters who preyed on large prey like triceratops, and edmontosaurus.

Tyrannosaurus was a bipedal carnivore with a massive skull balanced by a long, heavy tail. Relative to tyrannosaurs’ large and powerful legs, tyrannosaur skulls are small and narrow (though there is considerable variation), and had proportionally shorter lower leg bones. Adult tyrannosaurs were fearsome hunters. There is evidence that they may even have hunted in packs like some modern predators.

As with all dinosaurs, tyrannosaurs laid eggs. There is some evidence that tyrannosaurs reared their young; a tyrannosaur fossil nicknamed “Jane” was discovered in South Dakota alongside the skeleton of an adult and a juvenile of the same species. It is thought that either the adult tyrannosaur died during or after brooding, or that the adults deliberately brought prey to the nest for their young to eat.

Tyrannosaurus lived during the Late Cretaceous period, around 65.5 to 70 million years ago. Fossil evidence shows tyrannosaurs ranged from Alaska to as far south as New Mexico and Texas in North America

People often portray tyrannosaurs with three fingers just like all other dinosaurs, but recent findings suggest that tyrannosaurids actually had two fingers on their hands which was shown by recent fossil discoveries.