Neutron Scan Shows How a T. rex Died

Scotty is the biggest Tyrannosaurus rex ever found. He lived about 66 million years ago. His skeleton was discovered in 1991 in Saskatchewan, Canada. Scotty was about 43 feet long and weighed as much as two elephants.

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory used neutron imaging to look inside one of Scotty’s ribs. The technique lets scientists see inside an object without cutting it.

The 3‑D scans showed hard blood vessels inside the rib. Mauricio Barbi, a scientist at the University of Regina, said this is the first time such vessels have been seen in a fossil.

The rib was broken and the blood‑vessel repair was not finished. This suggests Scotty died shortly after a fight with another dinosaur.

The team plans to use the same method on other fossils to learn more about ancient animals.

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