Overview
- Tyrannosaurus growth modeling based on femora and tibiae from 17 individuals produced the most detailed life-history curve for the species to date.
- The best-supported model counted double and faint growth marks visible only under cross-polarized light, yielding lower peak growth rates and later size plateau estimates.
- Two well-known immature specimens, nicknamed Jane and Petey, were statistically incompatible with the main growth series, leaving open taxonomic explanations that remain unresolved.
- The authors report no strong evidence from living vertebrates that a growth curve’s inflection point marks sexual maturity, challenging a common assumption in dinosaur studies.
- The study recommends revising standard protocols for counting growth marks, with implications for reevaluating growth dynamics across other dinosaur taxa.