Tristan Otto
"Tristan Otto" , also just "Tristan" , is the name given to the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex that was discovered and excavated in 2012 in the US state of Montana .
The specimen on display is one of the best preserved in the world, in particular the 98 percent surviving skull is the most complete find of its kind to date. Tristan Otto is the first original Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton to be exhibited in Europe . Since September 2016, another original skeleton called “ Trix ” has been on permanent display in the Naturalis in the Netherlands .
Life
Tristan Otto's skeleton consists of 300 elements, 170 of which are original fossils . Despite the fact that the period of life was far back, there are individual clues that provide information about the life of Tristan Otto. Examinations of the bones revealed not only healed injuries, but also a tumor in the lower jaw and abnormalities in the tooth roots - presumably he had severe toothache, caused by an excessively long tooth. In contrast to the neighboring teeth, it did not fail when the worn teeth were periodically changed; the tooth that pushed back remained behind and must have exerted painful pressure on the jawbone.
Discovery and Fate
The fossils were discovered in 2012 in Montana in the Hell Creek Formation on private property. The region is known for its numerous dinosaur bones and their formations from the late Cretaceous period . The found remains were bought by the Danish-born patron Niels Nielsen, a London investment banker, and his partner Jens Peter Jensen and, subject to further investigations, handed over to the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin for three years in July 2015 , where the reconstructed skeleton has been exhibited since December 2015 is. The skeleton is named after the first names of the two sons of the two patrons. In the summer of 2015, a prospecting took place in the excavation bed of the fossil, which should find clues about the botanical environment of the dinosaur. It should also be clarified whether further excavations would be worthwhile in 2016. Originally, the skeleton was to be transferred to Copenhagen in spring 2019 and exhibited in the natural history museum there, but the move was delayed by a year, so that the skeleton has only been on view in Copenhagen for one year since April 2020. In mid-2021 the skeleton will return to the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin as part of a new exhibition.
Figures on the skeleton in its reconstructed pose
| parameter | value |
|---|---|
| Age of the fossil | approx. 66 million years |
| estimated age | 20 years |
| estimated gross weight | 7 tons |
| Mass of the fossil skull bones | 180 kg |
| Completeness (321 parts = 100%) | 157 original parts = 48.9%, the rest added |
| Length of the skeleton over all | 12 m |
| Height above everything (at the pool) | 3.63 m |
| Height above the top of the skull | 3.31 m (does not match the photo) |
| Height below the open lower jaw | 1.95 m |
| lowest height under the rib cage | 1.51 m |
| Height below the pubic bone | 1.45 m |
| lowest height under the caudal skeleton | 2.76 m |
| maximum height above the tail skeleton | 3.41 m |
The skeleton in Germany
When imported into Germany, customs initially charged a fee of several hundred thousand euros, as the skull was classified as a commercial object and not a cultural or scientific object.
The skeleton arrived in Berlin on November 14, 2015 and had to be assembled within a month. Since the original skull with its mass of 180 kg would have been too heavy for installation on the skeleton, it was digitized using computer tomography in the 3D laboratory of the Technical University of Berlin in order to be able to sinter a skull copy in several individual parts after extensive data processing . The copy replaces the original skull on the skeleton, which is displayed in a separate showcase and is therefore more accessible for ongoing scientific studies at any time.
literature
- Linda Gallé & Uwe Moldrzyk: T. rex - MB.R.91216 . 1st edition. Berlin 2015, ISBN 978-3-9815029-8-5 .
Web links
- Tristan - Berlin shows teeth. Museum of Natural History , Berlin
- The T. rex from Berlin. Spektrum.de , July 17, 2015
credentials
- ↑ a b c d e f Caroline Ring: The T. rex of Berlin. Spektrum.de , July 17, 2015, accessed on October 23, 2016.
- ↑ Trix the T Rex makes her mark on Leiden in a new exhibition. DutchNews.nl, September 9, 2016, accessed on October 23, 2016.
- ↑ Berlin's new dinosaur explodes. Die Welt , December 16, 2015 (with video).
- ↑ Dino with a toothache: T-rex skeleton fascinates researchers. News from the BMBF , December 17, 2015.
- ↑ a b c d "Wonderful Beast": Looking forward to T. rex "Tristan Otto". Focus , July 13, 2015.
- ↑ Skull of a T. Rex arrived in Berlin. Der Tagesspiegel , July 13, 2015.
- ↑ Tristan-Otto shows his teeth ( Memento from January 28, 2016 in the web archive archive.today ). Berliner Abendblatt , January 1, 2016.
- ↑ After three years T. rex Tristan Otto leaves Berlin. Berliner Morgenpost , November 26, 2018, archived from the original on April 3, 2019 . .
- ↑ The skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex will stay in the Berlin Natural History Museum for a year longer than previously planned. Merkur Online , January 24, 2019.
- ↑ Back from 2021 - Tristan. Retrieved July 17, 2020 .
- ↑ "Science is the new sex!" Der Tagesspiegel, February 8, 2016.
- ↑ In the wake of the dinosaurs. Berliner Morgenpost, February 14, 2016.
- ↑ Tristan in the 3D laboratory. Media information No. 242/2015 from TU Berlin , December 11, 2015.
- ↑ The tyrant from the 3D printer. Der Tagesspiegel, December 16, 2015.