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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 12, 2004)
Tyrannosaurus Rex faced teenage growth spurt Evidence shows T. Rex's 'mammal-like rapid growth' was not followed by 'mammal-like longevity' MALCOLM RITTER AP SCIENCE WRITER NEW YORK — Think your teenager is growing fast? A new study says Tyrannosaurus Rex launched into an explosive growth spurt in its teen years, packing on an average of near ly 5 pounds a day. That spurt, from ages 14 to 18, let T. Rex pick up most of its eventual adult weight of around 6 tons, the re search says. It stopped growing around age 20 and apparently died by age 30, researchers estimated. T. Rex was "the James Dean of dinosaurs — it lived fast and died young," said Gregory Erickson of Florida State University, one of the sci entists presenting a study of the rep tile's growth pattern in Thursday's is sue of the journal Nature. In contrast, he said, while an African elephant's growth reaches a plateau at around the same age and weight, that animal tends to live past age 50. Scientists have long wondered how the huge dinosaurs got so big. Did they grow slowly for a long time, or very quickly for a shorter period? Or was it a combination? The question must be studied separately for various kinds of dinosaurs, experts said. T. Rex was one of the largest meat eaters ever to walk the land when it died out some 65 million years ago. At an elephant-like 6 tons, it stretched about 40 feet to 45 feet long and measured about 13 feet tall at the hip. The adult skull alone was 5 feet long, with teeth up to a foot long. *T. Rex is one of the dinosaurs that could eat a human being in probably two bites," said Thomas Holtz Jr. of the University of Maryland. "One bite would take off the top, and the next bite would take off the hips and legs." Holtz, who didn't participate in the new study, called it important and said it could help answer other ques tions about T. Rex. For example, he said, it looks like the creature got so big after age 12 that it might not have been able to run as fast as before. So maybe it stopped running after prey and turned more to either scavenging or ambushing its meals, he said. The research is consistent with the hypothesis that younger T. Rexes of ten separated a victim from its herd Help cover campus life. I n Hiring for 2004-2005 academic year APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, Sept. 3, 5:00 p.m. Applications and job descriptions can be picked up at Suite 300, EMU. Questions? Call 346-5511 Hiring for the following positions. All positions are paid. I NEWS REPORTER > PULSE/ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER I GRAPHIC DESIGNER > WEBMASTER Oregon Daily Emerald An Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a culturally diverse workplace. 1 019505 Call today to ask about our $100 off move-in special. For a limited time only. Furnished 1, % & 4 bedroom apartments with washer/dryer starting at $300. TONS of amenities— come take a tour today! 338-4000 Q umversiTY COMMONS apartments 90 Commons Drive, Eugene, Or 97401 so 'the big bruiser parent could take it down,' Holtz said. It's not surprising that T. Rex showed an explosive growth period in adolescence, because that pattern had been detected in other kinds of di nosaurs, Holtz said. But the estimated lifetime of a T. Rex is surprisingly brief, because it shows the mammal like rapid growth wasn't followed by a mammal-like longevity, he said. Erickson agreed that the growth pattern work opens the door to study ing many other things about T. Rexes, although he said it doesn't settle the old question of whether it was prima rily a predator or a scavenger. Erickson and colleagues established the growth pattern by analyzing more than 60 bones from 20 specimens of T. Rex and three of its smaller evolu tionary cousins. They deduced the animals' ages at death— which ranged from 2 to 28 years— by studying growth lines, somewhat like counting the rings in a tree trunk. They estimat ed the animals' weights from the cir cumference of the thigh bone. One specimen in the study was Sue, the T. Tex skeleton on display at Chicago's Field Museum. Erickson said the bones showed Sue stopped growing around 18 to 20 years of age and lived to about age 28. The skele ton, which is the largest known forT. Rex, showed much evidence of dis ease and broken bones, he said. "This animal was a train wreck at the time it died," Erickson said. "I can't imagine these animals could live much longer." Malcolm Ritter is a science uniter for the Associated Press. Republican campaign rewards volunteers Tickets to Bush's Portland event on Friday will be given to Bush-Cheney volunteers SARAH LINN ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER PORTLAND — When John Kerry rolls into Portland on Friday, anyone who wants to hear the Democratic presidential hopeful can head to Waterfront Park. But those hoping to listen to Pres ident Bush on the same day in Port land will probably have to volunteer to work phone banks for the Repub lican campaign. Dawn Phillips, spokeswoman for the Oregon Republican Party, said providing access to the Bush appear ance is a way to reward "the volun teers who have been working so hard this summer." Tim Trickey, political director at the Multnomah County Republican Party office in Portland, said party offices have received hundreds of calls from people hoping to attend Friday's "town hall"-style meeting with the president. "Every potential Republican sup porter would most likely want to do some work, too," Trickey said. "We're just trying to build our volun teer base." Trickey said the Bush-Cheney campaign will decide who attends the event in addition to the volun teers. Meanwhile, Kerry campaign offi cials say Friday's rally at Waterfront Park is open to the public. Lisa Sohn, Oregon spokeswoman for the Kerry-Edwards campaign, said the rally marks the culmination of Kerry's two-week "Believe in America" tour across the country. "Of course we want to make the finale a big event that everyone could come to," she said. Sarah Linn is a writer for the Associated Press. • Homemade Soups • Fresh Salads • Fresh Pizza • Hamburgers • Fish & Chips • Pastas • Ribs full bar
