U6W3 Digging for SUE

Digging for SUE

Chapter 1 The Mighty T. Rex Tyrannosaurus rex were huge, fierce animals that walked on two legs. They ruled the Earth about 67 to 70 million years ago. How do we know this? T. rex bones were first found around 1900. Then, parts of more T. rex skeletons were found. Scientific research was done on these fossils. In 1990, scientists made an exciting new discovery. It led to more information about these dinosaurs. Tyrannosaurus rex means " king of the tyrant lizards. "

In 1990, Sue Hendrickson was part of an exploration for fossils in South Dakota. One day, Sue took a walk with her dog, Gypsy, to some nearby cliffs. Her group had not yet searched there. Sue found a few small bones on the ground. Then she spotted some huge bones sticking out of the cliff. Sue climbed up closer. She saw backbones and a leg bone. She noticed that the bones were hollow. This meant that they came from a meat-eating dinosaur. She knew T. rex had lived in this part of North America. Sue was excited by her important discovery. Sue made her discovery right before she and the fossil hunters were about to leave.

Chapter 2 The Dig Sue and a few other fossil hunters and paleontologists started to dig into these sandstone cliffs. They didn't use machines because they didn't want to harm the bones. Instead, Sue and her team used picks and shovels to remove the dirt and rock. After five days of teamwork, they reached the bones buried 30 feet down. Fossil hunters spend hours inspecting rock for fossils.

Then, Sue and the other fossil hunters had to work more carefully. They used smaller tools, including knives and brushes. They kept finding bones. Some of them were huge. The skull was about five feet long! The hunters found almost all of the bones. Most were in excellent shape. Those that were in danger of cracking were glued. Sue's team was able to dig out all of the bones in just 17 days! The hunters named this T. rex Sue. They named her after the woman who found her. However, scientists still do not know if this T. rex was male or female. Sue's enormous jaw held jagged teeth up to 12 inches long.