Absolute abundance and preservation rate of Tyrannosaurus rex

2021/04/15 by Charles R. Marshall, Daniel Varajão de Latorre, Connor J. Wilson +4 · 1 voice · 2 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

paper · doi:10.1126/science.abc8300

Abstract

Estimating dinosaur abundance Estimating the abundance of a species is a common practice for extant species and can reveal many aspects of its ecology, evolution, and threat level. Estimating abundance for species that are extinct, especially those long extinct, is a much trickier endeavor. Marshall et al. used a relationship established between body size and population density in extant species to estimate traits such as density, distribution, total biomass, and species persistence for one of the best-known dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex , revealing previously hidden aspects of its population ecology. Science , this issue p. 284

Cited by

• Selection, evolution and persistence of paleoecological systems
• First population analysis in Hadrosauroid dinosaurs (Ornithopoda: Iguanodontia: Hadrosauroidea)

Discussions

• Most metal #Dinosaur fact: It's estimated that we have recovered about one in 16,000 of the #Tyrannosaurus rexes that lived in Hell Creek Formation in Montana during that period of rock formation. Not [bsky, 29 points, 1 comments]

Related

• Extinction, diversity and survivorship of taxa in the fossil record
• Data for: A diminutive Tyrannosaur lived alongside Tyrannosaurus rex
• The structure of the end-Cretaceous dinosaur fossil record in North America
• Bringing up baby: preliminary exploration of the effect of ontogenetic niche partitioning in dinosaurs versus long-term maternal care in mammals in their respective ecosystems
• Body Size and Extinction Risk in Terrestrial Mammals Above the Species Level