Sue on display. The body is mostly the genuine fossils, however, due to it's heavy weight, the skull is displayed separately.
FMNH PR 2081, nicknamed Sue, is the most complete Tyrannosaurus specimen ever discovered and also one of the largest. Sue was discovered on August 12th, 1990, by Sue Hendrickson (who the specimen is named after). Sue was discovered at the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
History[]
In 1990, Sue Hendrickson and several others were searching for fossils outside of Faith, South Dakota. After discovering Edmontosaurus remains, they were preparing to leave. However, their car got a flat tire and the group had to go into town to get the car repaired. While in town, Hendrickson chose to search around a river for fossils, where she found several bone fragments in a river. The fragments lead to a massive skeleton embedded in the rock. Hendrickson immediately reported the finding to Peter Larson from the Black Hills institute, who identified the fossil as a Tyrannosaurus and sent an expedition to extract the specimen.
After the discovery of Sue, a controversy arose over who was the rightful owner of the specimen. The Black Hills institute had paid Maurice Williams to extract the fossils, which were located on his property[1]. Williams claimed that he was paid to allow them to extract and clean the specimen, but not to permanently keep it, and that Sue rightfully belonged to him and the Sioux tribe, which Williams was a part of. Because Larson did not give Sue to Williams, the FBI and National Guard raided the institute and took the Tyrannosaurus to the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. After Larson was arrested for unrelated matters, Williams was determined to be the rightful owner of Sue. Williams would then auction off the specimen, with the purchase being made by the Field Museum of Natural history, located in Chicago[2].
Description[]
At the time of Sue's death, it was around 28 years old, making it one of the oldest known Tyrannosaurus specimens. Sue has shown to have survived multiple injuries, including a broken shoulder blade and 3 broken ribs[3], however the bones show signs of healing, indicating that it survived the injuries. Sue's skull also has multiple signs of injuries and disease. Its head has multiple holes, possibly from fights with other Tyrannosaurus. Sue was also shown to have an infection on its lower jaw, likely from an ancestor of the parasitic protozoan Trichomonas gallinae[4]. Sue was a massive Tyrannosaurus, with a length of 12 meters, and a weight of 10 tonnes[5].
In Popular Culture[]
Due to being one of the most famous dinosaur fossils ever discovered, Sue has appeared in many documentaries and other media.
- The Field Museum runs a Twitter account for the dinosaur.
- Sue starred in its own documentary on its discovery, named Dinosaur 13.
- Waking the T. rex: The Story of SUE was released in 2010, giving an animated story on how Sue lived before being fossilized.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20070407131725/http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/contract_law_beyond/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20080212181549/http://minneapolisfed.org/pubs/fedgaz/01-07/fossils.cfm
- ↑ Rothschild, B.; Tanke, D. H.; Ford, T. L. (2001). "Theropod stress fractures and tendon avulsions as a clue to activity". In Tanke, D. H.; Carpenter, K. (eds.). Mesozoic Vertebrate Life. Indiana University Press. pp. 331–336.
- ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2748709/
- ↑ https://www.skeletaldrawing.com/home/mass-estimates-north-vs-south-redux772013