Tyrannosaurus rex

This passage describes one of the biggest dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex.

Lexile Level: 400L

Categories: Animals & Nature

Tyrannosaurus rex was one of the biggest dinosaurs ever. It lived over 100 million years ago. Its name is Greek. The word tyrannos means "tyrant." The word sauros means "lizard." Tyrannosaurus rex was 40 feet long. It was 16 feet high. It weighed as much as an elephant! Tyrannosaurus rex had a long, heavy tail. It had a very large head. But it had very small arms. Tyrannosaurus rex was a bipedal carnivore. That meant it walked on two legs and ate meat. It probably ate smaller dinosaurs. Tyrannosaurus rex had very sharp teeth. They could cut right through bone. Sometimes, its teeth broke off. But it would grow new ones. Scientists have found tyrannosaurus rex fossils in the mid-western U.S. The fossils were found in Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota.