Tyrannosaurus rex, commonly abbreviated to T. rex, was a theropod dinosaur and a large predator from the Late Cretaceous, which lived in North America.
Characteristics
It is one of the largest predatory dinosaur of all time, Tyrannosaurus was a deadly predator with a massive skull and a bite more powerful than any land animal before or after it. It was approximately four meters tall and thirteen meters long, and its body was strong and muscular with a long, heavy tail, two very large and strong legs and two tiny, two-clawed forearms. Tyrannosaurus was a very resistant creature, as it took nearly a dozen direct EMD shots to knock a T. rex out. (Episode 5.5) Tyrannosaurus apparently also had a very strong metabolism, as the Baba Yaga T. rex recovered from a tranquilizer within minutes. (Extinction Event)
Tyrannosaurus was shown to hunt its prey using stealth and cunning surprising for such a large animal. (Extinction Event) However, as seen with the T. rex that appeared during Convergence, Tyrannosaurus would lose its stealth when in a panic. (Episode 5.5) Once it locked its sights on a prey item, Tyrannosaurus would pursue its victim swiftly and silently despite its large size, with little chance of escape. T. rex was so deadly that its very presence could be disturbing to some smaller animals, who would go into a state of complete silence when the predator was nearby. (Extinction Event)
Incursions and encounters
Extinction Event
At least two Tyrannosaurus came through an Anomaly to the forests of Siberia in the 20th - 21st Century, including a female referred to as Baba Yaga. The Baba Yaga T. rex wreaked havoc, killing a Torosaurus infant and eleven people in June 2008, before killing a male Tyrannosaurus which killed Medyevin.
Baba Yaga also attacked a Russian military camp and killed three of the Russian military before giving chase to Abby Maitland and Nick Cutter, who tranquilized her only for her to awake and recover within a matter of minutes. The Baba Yaga T. rex continued to live in the Siberian forests even after the forest fire.
In the Late Cretaceous, one Tyrannosaurus killed a Pachycephalosaurus directly in front of Jenny Lewis, Helen Cutter and their military escorts. Nick Cutter, Connor Temple, Abby Maitland, and a team of scientists and Russian military saw another Tyrannosaurus killing an Anatotitan in the Cretaceous.
Picture This
A Tyrannosaurus came through an Anomaly to an Art Gallery in the present, where it chased Jess Parker and Hilary Becker until they tricked it into going back through the Anomaly.
Episode 5.5
When Convergence started, a T. rex came through an Anomaly into Central London in the present and rampaged through Baker Street Plaza. It ate fleeing citizens in the streets and fatally attacked Lucy. Later, when Jenna tried to return to Lucy's body, the T. rex attacked her, but Matt Anderson drove his car right in front of it, and tripped it up for a few moments before it got back up.
Jenna hid in Matt's car as the T. rex investigated, and Matt shot it multiple times directly in its mouth with an EMD until it collapsed, being rendered unconscious as a result. Presumably, the T. rex was either put in the ARC's Menagerie, or was returned through the Anomaly.
Other references
Episode 1.4
When Tom and Duncan were under the false impression that the Home Office was cloning Dodos, Tom mentioned in regards to why they'd choose to clone Dodos, "What would you start with, Dunc? T. rex?"
Episode 3.4
When a Giganotosaurus came through an Anomaly to an airport, Jenny Lewis initially mistook it for a T. rex before Connor Temple corrected her and dubbed it G-Rex to distinguish it.
Episode 3.10
When the ARC team arrived in a Cretaceous forest, Connor Temple mentioned Tyrannosaurus as one of the creatures possibly living in the forest.
Episode 4.1
Matt Anderson mentioned that the largest version of the EMD, when at full power, could take down a full-grown T. rex.
Episode 5.4
When Connor tried to convince Abby Maitland that the First Man-made Anomaly was not dangerous, he mentioned that it was too small for "a T. rex's toe" to pass through.
Deaths caused
- Dima
- Eleven unnamed people
- One Torosaurus infant
- Yuri Torosyan
- Nikolai Medyevin
- Three Russian soldiers
- One Pachycephalosaurus
- One Anatotitan
- Two or more London citizens
- Lucy
Appearances
- Episode 1.4 (mentioned)
- Extinction Event (first appearance)
- Episode 3.4 (mentioned)
- Episode 3.10 (mentioned)
- Episode 4.1 (mentioned)
- Picture This!
- Episode 5.4 (mentioned)
- Episode 5.5 (only appearance on television)
Gallery
This is a small selection of images from the massive gallery page for Tyrannosaurus rex. To the full collection of images, see here!
Real life
Tyrannosaurus rex (name meaning "king of the tyrant lizards") was a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur, which lived from about 68 to 65 million years ago in what is now western North America. It was among the last non-avian dinosaurs to exist before the K-T mass extinction event, and is believed to have been one of the most powerful terrestrial carnivores to ever live. Paleontologists have feuded over whether Tyrannosaurus was an apex predator, a scavenger, or an opportunistic combination. Over fifty T. rex fossils, some of which are almost complete, have been found.
Trivia
- Tyrannosaurus was mentioned more times than any dinosaur, having been mentioned five times before actually appearing in the show (however it had appeared twice before in other stories).
- The scene in Episode 5.5 where the T. rex tripped on Matt's car was reminiscent of a scene in Episode 3.4 where the Giganotosaurus tripped on Connor's truck while chasing him.
- Even though Baba Yaga from Extinction Event was described as a very silent and stealthy predator, the Tyrannosaurus from Episode 5.5 was very noisy in comparison, spending most of its time stomping around and roaring. This was speculated to be because it was a panicked animal in an unfamiliar environment, whereas Baba Yaga had been living in the Siberian woods for some time and had become used to it.
- Concept art of the Series 5 T. rex features it with having more bulk and a head similar in appearance to the T. rex design seen in the Jurassic Park films. Furthermore, the concept has the neck wattle found in the male T. rexes from The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III.
- There have been several models used to represent Tyrannosaurus rex for Primeval other than its actual appearance in Series 5:
- The Tyrannosaurus that is seen on the cover of Extinction Event was from the 1993 film Jurassic Park . Its design in the comic Picture This! also shares the design from Jurassic Park.
- A Tyrannosaurus in some Series 5 promotional videos was similar to the one used in the actual show but not identical.
- The Walking with Dinosaurs Tyrannosaurus rex CGI model has been used on Primeval Series 5 DVD back cover and the Google Play and Amazon store promotional image, the latter two streaming services in particular, being the 2007 cover of The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life, which was designed by series concept artist Daren Horley.
Errors
- The Tyrannosaurus from Episode 5.5 was able to get up quickly after tripping. A trip like in the show would've caused greater disorientation, and possibly even killed it in real life.
- When Matt attempted to take the T. rex down, it absorbed several shots to the head from the highest-power EMD. Matt used the same gun against a larger Spinosaurus, which was taken down in one shot.
Shadow of the Jaguar: Thylacosmilus • Future Bird |
Extinction Event: Tyrannosaurus rex • Entelodon • Euparkeria • Anatotitan • Torosaurus • Troodon • Ankylosaurus • Dimetrodon • Pachycephalosaurus • Unidentified Erratics |
Picture This!: Tyrannosaurus rex |