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Associated Press

Using fossilised teeth, scientists have finally taken the T. rex’s temperature – and it wasn’t too different from our own.
Researchers once thought that dinosaurs were sluggish, cold-blooded creatures. Later findings challenged that, suggesting that older dinosaurs were warm-blooded and could control their body temperature.
Most scientists agree that Tyrannosaurus rex was warm-blooded, but pinning down the exact core temperature of an extinct creature is difficult.
“We can’t just use a thermometer to do that,” said Jasmina Wiemann, a palaeobiologist at Johns Hopkins University who had no role in the latest work.
Scientists tried other methods like studying how T. rex grew or searching for clues in its bones, but a firm number eluded them.

In a new study, researchers hunted for chemical clues in the fearsome predator’s teeth. It turns out that atoms within the enamel clump together in different patterns based on an animal’s body temperature.
“We figured out how warm the most famous animal of all, a T. rex, was,” said co-author Aradhna Tripati, a geochemist at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Readings from three teeth revealed an average body temperature of about 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36 degrees Celsius).
That is similar to modern elephants and not too far from the average body temperature of humans, which ranges from 97 to 99 degrees Fahrenheit (36 to 37 degrees Celsius).
The findings were published on Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.
“I almost would have expected a higher body temperature,” Wiemann said.
Based on her prior work, she thought the predator could have run a few degrees hotter – similar to modern birds, dinosaurs’ warm-blooded descendants.


Knowing how hot or cold the T. rex was can help scientists piece together how the dinosaur might have lived.
At 97 degrees (36 degrees Celsius), T. rex could have lived across most of prehistoric North America, Tripati said, maintaining a stable internal thermometer across both cooler and hotter regions.
The findings could also shed light on the kinds of prey the dinosaur had to hunt to keep its energy up.
Scientists say it will be important to test these methods on other dinosaurs to see how warm or cold they ran.
It is possible T. rex’s temperature could have been one of the keys to its dominance as one of the dinosaur age’s top predators.
“There’s lots of interesting, charismatic species that could be explored using this,” said study co-author Robert Eagle, a geobiologist at UCLA.


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A child looks into the mouth of a Tyrannosaurus rex model at an exhibition in Jena, Germany, in June 2006. Photo: AP

This 2026 photo shows scientist Robert Eagle holding a Tyrannosaurus rex tooth that was used to measure the dinosaur’s body temperature. Photo: UCLA via AP

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The head of “Gus”, part of a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton, is pictured during a press preview at the Sotheby’s Breuer building in New York on July 1. Photo: AFP

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The ‘one-of-a-kind’ piece. Photo: AFP

T. rex had lips to hide those giant teeth, scientists say

An illustration depicts a juvenile Edmontosaurus being eaten by a Tyrannosaurus rex with a lipped mouth. Image: Mark P. Witton via AP

An illustration shows two principal models of predatory dinosaur facial appearance: crocodilian-like lipless jaws (above) or a lizardlike lipped mouth. Image: Mark P. Witton via AP

The skeleton of “Sue” the Tyrannosaurus rex is displayed at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Photo: Field Museum via Reuters 

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An artist’s illustration depicts a new dinosaur, Meraxes gigas, which had a huge head and tiny arms. Image: Carlos Papolio/University of Minnesota

Argentine palaeontologist Sebastian Apesteguia shows a screen as he speaks about a newly discovered giant carnivorous dinosaur, called Meraxes gigas, at the Maimonides University in Buenos Aires on Thursday. Photo: AFP

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World

United States & Canada

Scientists used chemicals in fossilised teeth to help pin down how warm the iconic dinosaur was


Scientists used chemicals in fossilised teeth to help pin down how warm the iconic dinosaur was.


Archaeology and palaeontology

United States

Johns Hopkins University

T. rex was warm-blooded and had body temperature close to ours, study finds

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Scientists used chemicals in fossilised teeth to help pin down how warm the iconic dinosaur was

Scientists used chemicals in fossilised teeth to help pin down how warm the iconic dinosaur was