The fairly quirky research project is documented in a new National Geographic Channel documentary, “T. Rex Autopsy”

May 18, 2015 05:33 GMT  ·  By

Come June 7, the National Geographic Channel will air a brand new documentary. The film, titled “T. Rex Autopsy,” tells the tale of a group of paleontologists who built and then autopsied a life-sized Tyrannosaurs rex in an attempt to better understand these ancient predators. 

Interestingly, word has it that it was the folks behind the National Geographic Channel who suggested to the paleontologists that they put together and then chop up a T. rex replica, all for the sake of scientific research.

Thus, scientist Steve Brusatte admits that he and fellow palaeontologists, together with the veterinary surgeons and the biologists who worked with them, only got involved with this project after having been approached by the television channel and invited to help show what T. rex was really like.

“I jumped at the chance because, over time, films have made dinosaurs become more fantasy and less realistic. I wanted to build a model of the T. rex that was completely accurate and it line with current science,” the researcher said in a statement, as cited by Perth Now.

Just how big a T. rex replica did they make?

Rather than cheat and make a life-sized replica of, say, a baby T. rex, the paleontologists behind this project went the extra mile and created a fake dinosaur measuring an astounding 14 meters (46 feet) in length.  

Based on recent studies detailing the species' anatomy, the researchers gave their fake T. rex eyes about as big as grapefruits, teeth reaching up to 1 meter (3.3 feet) in length and a stomach stretchy enough to welcome and digest a 4-year-old child.

The documentary film will show Steve Brusatte and his team cutting open the T. rex replica that they so painstakingly built and then sifting through its guts, organs and bones. Yes, the sight is not exactly the prettiest in television history.

Paleontologist Steve Brusatte doesn't want to give too much away and ruin the documentary for us, but he did say that we should expect a few surprises with “T. Rex Autopsy.” For instance, it looks like these dinosaurs had hearts much smaller than those of mammals, at least when compared to their body size.

The documentary will air on June 7 on the National Geographic Channel
The documentary will air on June 7 on the National Geographic Channel

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New documentary shows the autopsy of a T. rex replica
The documentary will air on June 7 on the National Geographic Channel
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