Distinctly Montana Magazine

51 w w w. d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m reigned as the most complete T. rex specimen until "Wankel rex" (MOR 555) and "Sue" (FMNH PR2081) were discovered in 1988 and 1990, respectively. From December 1915, when it was first unveiled, until 1940, AMNH 5027 was the only T. rex skeleton displayed anywhere in the world. Consequently, it became, as Michele Debczak observes, "the most iconic T. rex—and therefore the most iconic dinosaur—in history." Contemporaneous works by Charles Knight, the premier pa- leoartist of his era, also fueled a growing public interest in T. rex, which later contributed to the commercial success of sev- eral cinematic productions, most notably King Kong (1933) and Jurassic Park (1992). Similarly, dinosaur figures created for ex- hibits that the Sinclair Oil Company featured in the 1933-1934 and 1964-1965 world's fairs provided artistic grist for advertising agencies. As Donald Glut observes, im- ages produced during or after the latter event were used to promote "anything from the Encyclopedia Britannica to Taco Bell." Fieldwork conducted from 1900 to 1912 result- ed in the acquisition of eight T. rex specimens. However, "Nearly 60 years [elapsed] before any other skeletons were collected," according to Neal Larson, and almost 80 years passed before our understanding of this species began to fundamen- tally change. Data pertaining to T. rex has grown expo- nentially over the last 35 years, but the fruits of scientific inquiry in this field will always be limited by exceedingly low rates of fossil preser- vation. According to Charles Marshall, director of the University of California Museum of Pale- ontology, "fewer than 100 T. rex individuals" had been recovered as of April 2021, many of which are represented only by teeth or one fossilized bone. Mar- shall further emphasizes that the "32 relatively well-preserved, post-juvenile T. rexes" in museum collections account for, per- haps, "one in 80 million" of the estimated 2.5 billion that inhab- ited the earth over the course of approximately 2,500,000 years. Based on more restrictive criteria and data available prior to 2007, Neal Larson confirms the existence, at that time, of 46 T. rex specimens. Sites at which they were found cluster tightly around Fort Peck Lake. A second group of excavation sites circumscribe the border between southeastern Montana and the Dakotas. At least seven additional specimens have been unearthed since 2006 from outcroppings of the Hell Creek Henry Fairfield Osborn Joseph Leidy FIELDWORK CONDUCTED FROM 1900 TO 1912 RESULTED IN THE ACQUISITION OF EIGHT T. REX SPECIMENS. HOWEVER, "NEARLY 60 YEARS [ELAPSED] BEFORE ANY OTHER SKELETONS WERE COLLECTED..." Montana's Most Legendary Apex Predator Montana's Most Legendary Apex Predator Tyrannosaurus rex Tyrannosaurus rex

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