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This big-toothed dinosaur was a fierce hunter. Meet Tyrannosaurus (ty-ran-uh-SAWR-us) rex. This giant moved fast and had a royally bad bite!

• Tyrannosaurus rex means “tyrant lizard king.” T. rex wasn’t a lizard, but it WAS a reptile.

Dinosaurs’ lives are often a mystery. Fossils can’t tell us exactly how T. rex acted or what its family was like. But scientists can make some good guesses by comparing T. rex fossils to animals alive today.

Nesting
Ostrich nests are shallow holes filled with a pile of eggs. No fossils of T. rex eggs have been found yet. But scientists have found other theropod nests with similar piles.

Smelling
Lions use their noses to sniff out food. T. rex had a great sense of smell, too. Scientists think it was able to sniff out meals, dead or alive.

Hissing
In the movies, the roar of a T. rex sends animals (and people) running. But T. rex likely didn’t roar like a lion. It probably hissed and growled like an alligator!

Eating
A bearded vulture eats meat AND bones. Pieces of bone have been found in T. rex poop fossils. So these dinosaurs probably snacked on bones, too!