Scientists used fossilized teeth to measure the body temperature of Tyrannosaurus rex, finding it was about 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36 degrees Celsius). This is similar to modern elephants and within the range of human body temperatures. The study, published in Science Advances, challenges previous theories by providing concrete evidence that T. rex was warm-blooded and could maintain a stable internal temperature across different climates. Researchers suggest this finding may help understand how T. rex lived and hunted for prey.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Scientists have successfully measured the body temperature of Tyrannosaurus rex using advanced chemical analysis techniques, finding it to be around 31-36 degrees Celsius. This study, published in the journal Science Advances, utilized isotope clumping in fossilized tooth enamel to determine that T. rex was warm-blooded like birds and mammals rather than cold-blooded like reptiles. The research team, including geochemist Aradhna Tripati from the University of California, Los Angeles and paleobiologist Jasmina Wiemann from Johns Hopkins University, discovered that the carbon and oxygen atoms in T. rex teeth cluster differently depending on body temperature. This finding provides strong evidence that T. rex had a regulated internal temperature similar to modern elephants and humans, challenging previous assumptions about dinosaur metabolism.
Written for “T Rex Temperature Study” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Using fossilized teeth, scientists have finally taken the T. rex’s temperature — and it wasn’t too different from our own.
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it → use → own
Researchers once thought that dinosaurs were sluggish, cold-blooded creatures.
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dinosaurs → think → ?
Later findings challenged that, suggesting that older dinosaurs were warm-blooded and could control their body temperature.
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dinosaurs → challenge → temperature
Most scientists agree that Tyrannosaurus rex was warm-blooded, but pinning down the exact core temperature of an extinct creature is difficult.
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pinning → agree → creature
“We can’t just use a thermometer to do that,” said Jasmina Wiemann, a paleobiologist at Johns Hopkins University who had no role in the latest work.
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who → use → work
Scientists tried other methods like studying how T. rex grew or searching for clues in its bones, but a firm number eluded them.
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number → try → them
In a new study, researchers hunted for chemical clues in the fearsome predator’s teeth.
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researchers → hunt → teeth
It turns out that atoms within the enamel clump together in different patterns based on an animal’s body temperature.
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atoms → turn → temperature
“We figured out how warm the most famous animal of all, a T. rex, was,” said co-author Aradhna Tripati, a geochemist at the University of California, Los Angeles.
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Tripati → figure → California
Readings from three teeth revealed an average body temperature of about 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36 degrees Celsius).
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Readings → reveal → Fahrenheit
That’s similar to modern elephants and not too far from the average body temperature of humans, which ranges from 97 to 99 degrees Fahrenheit (36 to 37 degrees Celsius).
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which → ’ → Fahrenheit
The findings were published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.
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findings → publish → journal
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Report → start → news
“I almost would have expected a higher body temperature,” Wiemann said.
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Wiemann → expect → temperature
Based on her prior work, she thought the predator could have run a few degrees hotter — similar to modern birds, dinosaurs’ warm-blooded descendants.
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predator → base → birds
Knowing how hot or cold the T. rex was can help scientists piece together how the dinosaur might have lived.
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dinosaur → know → ?
At 97 degrees (36 degrees Celsius), T. rex could have lived across most of prehistoric North America, Tripati said, maintaining a stable internal thermometer across both cooler and hotter regions.
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Tripati → live → regions
The findings could also shed light on the kinds of prey the dinosaur had to hunt in order to keep its energy up.
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dinosaur → shed → energy
Scientists say it’ll be important to test these methods on other dinosaurs to see how warm or cold they ran.
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they → say → dinosaurs
It’s possible T. rex’s temperature could have been one of the keys to its dominance as one of the dinosaur age’s top predators.
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temperature → ’ → predators
“There’s lots of interesting, charismatic species that could be explored using this,” said study co-author Robert Eagle, a geobiologist at UCLA.
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Eagle → ’ → UCLA
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