If you’re looking for a terrific rough and tumble partner in your soft toys, a plush T rex is the way to go. Sturdy, tough, and looking like it can withstand just about anything, a plush T rex can really enhance good old fashioned imaginative play.
In 2009, a new scientific paper was published reporting that tyrannosaurus rex adolescents did lots of fighting with their peers. Researchers discovered the evidence on Jane, a juvenile T rex that was found in Montana in 2001. By examining Jane’s fossils, they found a serious bite that was so deep in the bone, it punctured the animal in four places in the snout and left upper jaw. While the bite left scars, it didn’t cause life-threatening injuries and it went on to heal. According to the lead author on the study, Joe Peterson Jane has what we call a boxer’s nose. Her snout bends slightly to the left. It was probably broken and healed back crooked. Researchers came to the conclusion that it was another young/juvenile T rex that inflicted the injury; given the bite-marks were oblong shaped it’s certain only a few other animals could have done the damage. If it had been an adult T rex or a crocodile, the bite marks would have been different. Peterson goes on to say that after looking at the teeth and jaws of Jane, its own bite would have been a fairly close match to the ones found on its face leading them to conclude that she/he was attacked by the same species that was about the same age. Since Jane’s wound had gone on to heal, researchers also believe Jane was younger by a few years.
While not a whole lot of information is known about Jane named after a museum donor including what sex he/she is, researchers do know the dinosaur was young when it died. And, despite that, it was still a formidable animal at 22 feet long and 7 and a half feet high. It was also 1,500 pounds and had 71 razor sharp teeth. Jane was undoubtedly smaller than an adult T rex and after study and consultation with dinosaur experts, the leader of the Montana expedition where Jane was found determined the animal was about 11 or 12 years old.
While your plush T rex will be a great partner in ‘crime’ for all the adventures it will share with you, you won’t have to worry about it fighting with anyone else except in your imagination. Your plush T rex may not be as ferocious as as the real thing, but it’s fun to imagine what it would be like if it really was!
Angeline Hope is a collector of plush t rex toys. You can view a plush giant toy selection at MyBigPlush.