New research confirms T. rex tyrant dinosaurs have no feathers

Scientists reject the hypothesis that Tyrant T. rex grew like a bird.

Scientists have long argued that Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex) had no feathers , only scaly skin like reptiles. However, a new hypothesis arises that this aggressive predator has feathers like birds.

To shed light on this controversial issue, a group of international scientists went to the Houston, Texas, US Museum of Natural Science to study fossil skin samples in the neck, pelvis and tail of a dinosaur T. . rex and 4 cousins ​​of the tyrannosaurid family, present on Earth at the end of the Cretaceous, about 65.5-99 million years ago.

T. rex tyrant dinosaur graphics.(Photo: Gallery of Natural History Museum, UK).

In a study published in the journal Biology Letters on June 7, the team confirmed that there is "convincing evidence" that T. rex's skin is completely covered with scales , disproving the hypothesis that this species has feathers like birds, according to AFP.

The common ancestor of the researched dinosaur group also had no feathers, although feathers appeared in the family of tyrannosaurid dinosaurs long ago.

"Our discovery of scaled skin on T. rex's body paints a picture of the big predators in the traditional view," the team said. The study also showed that most dinosaurs possessing large bodies in the tyrannosaurid family have scaly skin. The feathers that appear appear limited to the back.

The way of tyrant T. rex dinosaurs hunt.