Photo: whether this chap was a scavenger or a killer, the T-rex was certainly a terrifying creature. © The Natural History Museum.
As fierce goes, the giant 'tyrant lizard king' Tyrannosaurus rex is as terrifying as it gets.
Possessed of massive teeth, a four foot jaw and now a Hollywood star, T-rex is perhaps the most recognisable of the dinosaurs.
Ever since Barnum Brown unearthed the first T-rex in 1902, the popular image of the prehistoric creature has been one of a merciless killer that hunted down and devoured its prey.
However, new evidence, pieced together by American palaentologist Dr Jack Horner following his 1990 discovery of the most complete T-rex skeleton to date, suggests T-rex wasn't a hunter. The mighty reptile, Horner claims, was in fact a scavenger that used strength and stench to claim the kills of other dinosaurs.
This summer, the Natural History Museum presents the evidence for and against, leaving visitors to make up their own minds and cast their vote - was the blood-thirsty predator of popular legend really a scavenger?
Photo: famous palaeontologist Dr Jack Horner, well known for his controversial theories about dinosaurs, has produced new evidence to suggest T-rex was nothing more than a very powerful scavenger. © Discovery.
"Big, nasty and stinky – that's my idea of T-rex," explained Dr Jack Horner (technical advisor to Steven Spielberg on Jurassic Park and the inspiration behind the character of Alan Grant, played by Sam Neil).
"I don't believe there is any evidence for T-rex being a predator at all. With what we know, the best we can say is that T-rex was 100 per cent scavenger."
From findings at Hell Creek, Montana in 1990, Horner is convinced that with its tiny arms, bulky legs and lack of speed T-rex would not have been capable of catching and killing its own prey.
But the question has got palaentologists split into two camps, with some following Horner's theory and others sticking with the T-rex we all know and are terrified of.
Dr Angela Milner, Associate Keeper of Palaeontology at the Natural History Museum explained that the more evidence we gather about this magnificent creature, the fuller the picture will become.
Photo: jaws that could crush a human in one single crunch and the strongest teeth of any dinosaur, but did they plunder the kills of others or did they belong to a top hunter. © The Natural History Museum.
"Scientists' image of T-rex has continued to evolve ever since the first T-rex skeleton was found by Barnum Brown in 1902 – simply because fossil evidence only tells us so much," said Dr Milner.
"While we now know much more about how T-rex would have looked and moved, thanks to many T-rex discoveries, T-rex's behaviour is still largely a mystery. Continuous questioning is the essence of science and it's through this process that we may learn more about T-rex."
Down at the Natural History Museum they've put together animatronic mock-ups of how T-rex the scavenger and T-rex the predator might have operated. Vivid and life-like, the scavenger buries its head in a slain Triceratops, while the agile and roaring predator attacks an Ankylosaur.
Meanwhile, the faint-hearted can view footage of Jack Horner's famous dig or explore displays comparing T-rex's physical features with those of animals that scavenge or hunt today.
24 Hour Museum Education Officer, Anra Kennedy was on hand at the exhibition preview to get the verdict from its first visitors.
Photo: Dr Angela Milner, Associate keeper of Palaentology and all-round dinosaur expert at the Natural History Museum. © The Natural History Museum.
Billy, aged 9, is convinced the scavenger is the real T-rex, "since its legs weren't as well built as a Velociraptor's," he explained. "T-rex's legs were powerful and bulky so it could only run for short distances."
Put on the spot, Jossy, also nine, delivered an open judgement: "I think it's both." said Jossy. "I think it did eat dead things and it also hunted small animals."
However, having come face to face with an animatronic model of the fierce creature, he conceded that should the meeting occur for real: "I would run for my life."
T-rex: The Killer Question is on at the Natural History Museum until May 3, 2004, when it will go off on a tour around Europe.
It's got the world of palaentology split in two, so what's it to be Predator or Scavenger? You Decide.
Voting has already started and you can follow the progress by clicking on this link to visit the Natural History Museum's T-rex website.
