Tyrannosaurus rex body temperature confirmed as warm-blooded

Researchers have determined that the Tyrannosaurus rex was a warm-blooded predator, with an estimated internal body temperature of approximately 36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit). This finding, published in the journal Science Advances, provides a direct physiological estimate for the extinct species, placing its temperature in a range similar to modern humans and elephants.

The breakthrough was achieved by a team of scientists, including researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), who utilized clumped-isotope analysis on fossilized tooth enamel. By examining the chemical bonds between carbon and oxygen isotopes in teeth from a specimen named ‘Thomas’ at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, scientists could reconstruct the temperature at which the minerals formed.

This discovery supports long-standing theories that T. rex was an active, high-metabolism organism rather than a sluggish, cold-blooded reptile. Such thermoregulation would have allowed the predator to maintain stable activity levels and inhabit diverse environments across prehistoric North America, including cooler regions.