T. rex - When did they Stop Growing?
THIS ARTICLE in New Scientist, (based on this ACADEMIC PAPER) suggests that they grew until at least forty!
The methodology used is akin to counting tree rings, complicated by the earliest growth rings being destroyed as the bone marrow cavity enlarges. Because of this you need many specimens with overlapping growth stages to allow for this.
And after forty years growth rings are not produced so the maximum age of T. rex cannot be determined.
But only two of the specimens reached the advanced age of forty.
The New Scientist article makes the research sound very straight forward but the academic paper reveals that the gathering of the evidence is more than just a matter of counting rings. And then we get into the statistics!
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