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T. rex's new look. What do you think?

Galvasean

Below is what is now believed to be the most accurate portrayal of what Tyrannosaurus rex looked like.
I'll have to admit it looks a bit too much on the feathery side for my liking.
So what say you? Has science gone too far?
Should we bring back the old T. rex with scales only?
Or does a fashion consience mohawk do it for you?

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Comments

Kess73

Don't like it. For two reasons.

The first is simply because that pic looks like the T Rex is on it's way to a Rocky Horror Picture Show party.

The second is that I think the plumage is far too bright for a predatory animal. People should be looking towards modern day raptors, especially the ones who use a mix of ambush techniques as well as pursuit techniques, for ideas on possible colourations for dinos.

Wibbs

Ditto. It's the colours that kill it for me, not the feathers. Like Kess73 look to raptors today. While there are a couple that are striking in colour, most are not. Plus raptors today attack from the sky so light colouration wouldn't be such an issue if required for display purposes. For a ground based predator it would. Unless we go back to scavenger status. You'd see him coming a mile away.

Galvasean

Well if they are going for scavenger status it isn't an accurate portrayal of T. rex since as it turns out T. rex was very fast.
I'm not sure where they've drawn the colour scheme from, seaguls perhaps? The colour scheme just doesn't seem right for a large predator unless it was living in the thundra, which I'm pretty sure not tyrannosaurs are known to have inhabited.

What is also interesting is that they have given it the scutes along the back as seen in Ceratosaurus. As far as I am aware no tyrannosaurs have been found with them either.

edit: nobody voted?

Yitzhak Rabin

Galvasean wrote: »

edit: nobody voted?

Coz I like the feathers but not the colours! None of the options suited.

Manach

I'm slightly behind the times, back in my geology days the T.Rex was a scavenger, so slightly analagous to to-day's vultures feather's would not be part of the body form.
As for thr black and white colour scheme for predators - well it works for pandas

dlofnep

On what basis are they now suggesting that he had feathers?

Wibbs

Manach wrote: »

well it works for pandas .

Not so much they're endangered

Kess73

Wibbs wrote: »

Ditto. It's the colours that kill it for me, not the feathers. Like Kess73 look to raptors today. While there are a couple that are striking in colour, most are not. Plus raptors today attack from the sky so light colouration wouldn't be such an issue if required for display purposes. For a ground based predator it would. Unless we go back to scavenger status. You'd see him coming a mile away.

Colour it like a female sparrowhawk and I would follow the line of logic in terms of feather and colouration, hell even the slate grey of the male sparrowhawk. Even if a T Rex was feathered with light colours underneath, I think the light colouration there would be broken up in a similar fashion as to how it is on the hawk.

I chose the Sprawk due to the fact it is an out and out predator, but one that mainly uses ambush techniques to catch it's prey, but is also capable of a fair bit of speed for a short pursuit.

Because of it's method of hunting the sprawk's colouration allows it to blend in nicely in bushes and trees.

T Rex, for me anyway, may have had a similar style of hunting to the sparrowhawk (minus the hiding up trees bits of course:)), so logically it should have had the colours to allow it to blend somewhat with it's surroundings.

Oh and if anyone ever wants to look at something that really fires the imagination as to what a hunting theropod may have resembled, then I suggest that people try to find footage of a sparrowhawk hunting on foot.

Normally they hunt by springing an ambush and swooping out from a location where they were hidden, but sometimes their prey will try to avoid them by going under a bush and the sparrowhawk will give chase on foot and bring down it's prey whilst on foot.

Galvasean

I suppose the colour scheme is a bit like a caracara. Watching them feeding, they are very theropod like.

Galvasean

dlofnep wrote: »

On what basis are they now suggesting that he had feathers?

Several smaller (not to mention earlier) members of the tyrannosaur family including Dilong had feathers. It is probable that juvenille Tyrannosaurus would have had feathers for insulation purposes. Adults may have retained some feathers for display purposes, but I personally find the full body covering as seen in the restoration in post # 1 to be rather fanciful. A creature as large as T. rex would not have needed such a covering to keep warm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrannosauroidea#Feathers

marco_polo

Unless new research shows that they caught their prey by causing an epileptic fit when charging at them, then I for one shall remain unconvinced by the new colour scheme. :pac:

dlofnep

No like. :mad:

My T-Rex had no feathers, and he fought Triceratops to a draw everyday.

Rubecula

I love it.

It's a big pigeon, imagine having one of them on your office window sill.

Leaving its poo heaps on your car may be a bit annoying mind you, but can you imagine the look on the face of any cat that tried to snaffle an easy lunch?:D

Durhamstown1

Hey y'all, love the thread. Wondering could I get some feedback on this clip of our T-Rex that we're bringing over the Dublin next year. It's one of the stars of Erth's Dinosaur Petting Zoo which is heading for the RDS next July! Granted, this T-Rex doesn't have the feathers but I'm not sure the 4-10 year olds or their folks would mind that much....anyway,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY4SmhaNq1k

Galvasean

Durhamstown1 wrote: »

Hey y'all, love the thread. Wondering could I get some feedback on this clip of our T-Rex that we're bringing over the Dublin next year. It's one of the stars of Erth's Dinosaur Petting Zoo which is heading for the RDS next July! Granted, this T-Rex doesn't have the feathers but I'm not sure the 4-10 year olds or their folks would mind that much....anyway,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY4SmhaNq1k

Looks pretty good. I can offer my Palaeontology seal of approval in exchange for some free tickets...