Dr Stephen Brusatte - Tyrannosaur Discoveries

Dr Stephen Brusatte, Chancellor's Fellow in Vertebrate Palaentology, delivers the second 2014 Science on a Winter's Evening lecture entitled, Tyrannosaur Discoveries.
In this lecture, Dr Brusatte introduces "Pinocchio rex" and other newly discovered tyrannosaurs, and describes how palaeontologists discover fossils, using cutting- edge techniques to study dinosaur evolution.
Recorded on 4 December 2014 at the University of Edinburgh's Michael Swann Building.

[@Lunar_lunaa]

I have binged all of the professors videos and I do not regret 1 second of that time.

[@narjitmankoo8478]

I am reading your book The Rise and fall of the Dinosaurs, it is an excellent book. Great lecture on Tyrannosaurs Rex

[@alfredodistefanolaulhe2212]

I read it the past year, I just loved it.

[@shruggzdastr8-facedclown]

I really like Dr. Brusatte's speaking style! It's a nice mix of understatement and animation -- shows just enough excitement about his subject-matter to keep the audience engaged, interested and invested but, at the same time, doesn't over-sell it (although it is hard to over-sell a subject as fascinating as dinosaurs)

[@amandastakeonit7402]

Hmm I thought he was a jerk! His opening line..several times throughout. His personality is almost caustic. That's not to say, he doesn't know his stuff.

[@qumpania]

One of greatest science communicators of our era.

[@IainHamilton]

Another scientist who's infectious enthusiasm makes you hang on every word. Really enjoyed this.

[@TheTeacher1020]

Wonderful lecture. This series is excellent. Thank you, University of Edinburgh.

[@ZeroGaiaForce]

Very nice. It was a long time since I saw a summary about paleontology and dinosaurs up to date.

[@Washoii]

I literally just finished reading this guys book 5minutes Ago and looked him up. Looking forward to watching this now! The book is great!

[@jeremyb03]

Spectacular job. I'd love more lectures by him m

[@Nunya_Bidnez]

TY Edinburgh for letting me get my Smarty Pants on. Supper good and now Im subscribed. Make me proud

[@robbie_]

Very interesting talk. Thanks for sharing.

[@sunandandas8231]

Dr. Brusatte's book 'Dinosaur Palaeobiology' is an absolute read for any palaeobiologist. Enjoyed reading that!

[@sherolynsimmons7284]

Absolutely Fabulous....

[@holographicsol2747]

So awesome, thank you :)

[@aisharimla3988]

Amaizing sir

[@anthonycurcio5018]

palaentology is very interesting about the dinosaurs on how they lived.

[@Nunya_Bidnez]

1200 is just a scratch as they think all we have is 10% at best of what lived then. Imagine the ones we dont know about. Scary thoughts that rattle the structure of my skull.

[@MrCrockett1]

27:40 When was there a fightscene between a T-rex and a Triceratops in Jurassic Park?

[@stevenlefevre6359]

He's a paleontologist not a media critic

[@TWOCOWS1]

Stephen is a looker!

[@biggstavros5876]

Does anybody other than John Horner study the juveniles rather than naming them as a new species ?

[@andrewsuryali8540]

Thanks to Horner everyone does that now.

[@raihanalam9]

It's Jack Horner

[@biggstavros5876]

@@raihanalam9 No, his name is John Horner. Jack is his nickname

[@mananmehta3609]

I really like rise and the fall of the dinosaurs.

[@crystalheart9]

Enjoyed this, thank you!

[@Shane_O.5158]

turn the volume WAAAAAAY UP.

[@jimtassano4357]

That was a great, informative lecture; I really enjoyed it! It is pathetic, as evidenced by some comments here, that elementary school dinosaur lovers grow up to think they know the subject better than a leading world researcher. Thanks again Dr. Brusatte!

[@davelee3725]

I wonder if it was colder in Mongolia and that's why the dinos there had feathers

[@1959Berre]

I was afraid he would speak with a scottish accent, but then he smacked his lips...

[@wierdalien1]

No, he speaks with a much worse one.

[@TheMattTrakker]

I'm curious, what is the speaker's rational when he states that T-Rex was the biggest predator that has ever lived on land? Spinosaurus is thought to be the largest carnivorous dinosaur, but likely spent most of it's life in the water, so maybe it didn't "live on land'. But then there is also Giganotosaurus which is thought to be bigger as well.

[@jean-christopheboulay1116]

For me there is a difference to being the longest, being taller and the heaviest, for him biggest it's ( I think) saying it was the heaviest, more bulky one. For example, komodo dragon are the biggest lizards on earth, but croc monitor are the longest ( t-rex bieng kind of komodo dragon and spinosaurus or giganotausaurus being the croc monitor). Atleast, It is what I think.

[@malligrub]

My understanding is that Spinosaurus, though now thought to be partially quadrupedal and not typically upright as in most therapods, was still extremely heavy at well over 10 tonnes to 15 tonnes in mass. I also believe that there is now evidence from fragmentary remains and skulls that T-Rex might actually get significantly larger than "Sue" with new estimates claiming up to 15m long and up to 12-15 tonnes as well, which would be truly spectacular!

[@7777Scion]

You need an update-great controversy now among paleontologists about downsizing Spino - it may have been a very slender creature for its size.

[@Godeater13273]

Tyrannosaurus weighs more than Spinosaurus and Giganotosaurus. Spinosaurus weighs around 6 to 7 tons at 15 meters long we have smaller individuals that weigh around 3 to 5 tons. Giganotosaurus is estimated to weigh around 6 to 8 tons and Tyrannosaurus is estimated to weigh around 8 to maybe 9 tons so going from weight Tyrannosaurus is the largest.

[@Riceball01]

FYI, it's T. rex. The standard nomenclature for naming dinosaurs 9 (and all animals extinct and extant) is capitalizing the first letter of the genus, followed by a period (no - )and writing the species name in all lower case. So T. rex instead of T-Rex; Allosaurus fragilis would rendered out as A. fragilis, Triceratops horridus would be T. horridus, and so on.

[@sharonbaldwin4596]

Love T. rex !

[@jesseguajardo8592]

Could I volunteer to help dig up fossil?

[@Liaswildlife]

Sure! Ask in your local museum or a university research group. Helpers are usually welcome, if you are willing to move a lot of rubbel, without finding a lot.. Big finds are usually rare, like once a year or every 2-3 years, depending on the site.

[@jesseguajardo8592]

@@Liaswildlife Sounds fair

[@portugueseeagle8851]

Could it be possible that those smaller tyranosaurs, which lived alongside bigger tyranosaurs, might be, not different species, but all of the same species, being just of different ages?

[@LuigiG145]

Likely not. Albertosaurus, Gorgosaurus, and Daspletosaurus are from rocks a couple million years older than those that Tyrannosaurus is found in and those previous three are also known from specimens that are clearly adults distinct from T. rex.

[@portugueseeagle8851]

+Luigi Gaskell I wasn't talking about that. I meant, for example, Nanotyranus being T. rex or Raptorex being a juvenile Tarbosaurus.

[@LuigiG145]

PortugueseEagle You're actually spot on. _Nanotyrannus_ is most probably a juveile _T. rex_ (all the evidence suggests so) but apparently some analyses find _Raptorex kriegsteini_ to be a unique genus but I kinda have my doubts on that.

[@Tyrannosaurine]

Luigi Gaskell I find the nanotyrannus question very intriguing

[@sMASHsound]

chickens are t-rex's and ducks are spinosaurs...

[@larryt.7913]

At 28:20 he said "feathered dinosaurs were only first found in 1997. Less than 20 years ago. Until then we had NEVER found a dinosaur with feathers and now we have". That is simply wrong. Archeopteryx and it's feathers were discovered the 1860s.

[@5gilligan]

Yes. You're right, he doesn't know what he is talking about. Whereas, you obviously have a far superior grasp of the science. He probably can't even spell Archeopteryx like you. I can't wait for your next paper and book on Palaeontology, and when can we expect your TED lecture?

[@TheMattTrakker]

Instead of a failed attempt at a sarcastic reply, perhaps you can explain how that fossil, which was found pre-1997, does not count. Are you making this statement based on the idea that it is not truly a dinosaur?

[@alexruss9310]

Larry Treadwell Archeopteryx is considered by scientist as the first bird, that why he said the first feathered dinosaurs were discovered only in 1997 year. But of course Archeopteryx is not really bird it was small raptor like dinosaur, because when Archeopteryx lived there were real birds!

[@5gilligan]

You have the wrong June Cole at this address.

[@uw0t314]

Larry T. Archaeopteryx is not a dinosaur. It’s what’s called a dinosauromorph: a link between dinosaurs and birds

[@aaronf4201]

“Herbivorous dinosaurs grew bigger than anything alive today”-🤔...blue whale? “T-Rex was the largest carnivore to ever walk the earth”-🤔...Spinosaurus?

[@michaelanderson9140]

Spinosaurus likely weighs less than scotty and sue.

[@svenheuseveldt7188]

Spinosaurus wasn't more massive then T.rex.

[@Tyrannosaurine]

k halliday Science.

[@mzungusi]

Spinosaurs were almost certainly mostly water dwellers, like modern Crocodilians. They were also less massively built than T.Rex.

[@samallouche4896]

i've always loved dinosaurs since i was 6 and i'm 10 now

[@gaz1tinsley]

If you like the dinosaurs, read the bible, there is lots in there with people as well, it also tells you how most them died and why some of them survived !

[@txm100]

😂😂😂

[@nakdad]

I loved dinosaurs since I was 6 too... and now I’m 38 I still love them.. follow your passions kiddo

[@nakdad]

Why are you putting anything that isn’t anything but encouraging to this child? They will have enough time to deal with theology, science, politics whatever it is. Let a 10-year-old be a 10-year-old. And see the world with clear eyes.. I don’t care what the position is you posted.. I could agree or not. But that’s not the point. To respond like that is akin to being a tough guy to a ten year olds post. Now if you want to be a tough guy and discuss you views I’m right here PM me.

[@Aluminata]

The Allouche Sibs I have loved them since I was 10. I am now 60.😁

[@MymilanitalyBlogspot]

The black and white diagram of the early Siberian T-Rex looks a lot like Alaskan images of gods!

[@grimlock1471]

I feel like I'm asking a very simple question, but I'm confused by some of the phylogenic terminology. Tyrannosaur TyrannosauRIDae TyrannosauROIDae Tyrannosaurus

[@TheTeacher1020]

It’s sill hard for me to imagine a feathered T-Rex!

[@aboomination897]

google pictures then

[@jensbruer5088]

Recently discovered skin prints show the had in fact a scaly skin

[@Mobius118]

@@jensbruer5088 you are correct, sir!!

[@AlphaNumeric123]

Jens Bruér do you have a reference on this so I can check it out?

[@AlphaNumeric123]

Wade Meservy reference?

[@Titus-as-the-Roman]

I don't know why but when ever there's talk about the Bolide event that eliminated the Dino's and their kin there's often never a mention given to the Deccan Traps Flood Basalt event in India dated to the exact time, which surely would have impacted the worlds climate and ecology, after all it's larger flood basalt in Siberia that's blame (or the massive trigger to) for the End Permian extinction.

[@WaterShowsProd]

Glad to see someone else noticed this. I liked his sheepish admission that herbivores were showing signs of decline, but no mention of the mass extinction evident in foraminifera before the impact. He mentions that dinosaur growth may have been the result of a "cocktail" of factors, but he's sure the extinction was a single deus ex machina, regardless of so many learned colleagues still not buying into it.

[@wierdalien1]

@@WaterShowsProd decline doesnt mean they were in trouble.

[@DidrickNamtvedt]

Very good and interesting lecture and I have a lot of respect for Brusatte and his work. However, he mentions a fight between Tyrannosaurus Rex and Triceratops in Jurassic Park but the only scene with Triceratops in that movie was a sick one lying on the ground and the only other dinosaur Tyrannosaurus faught against in that movie was Velociraptor towards the end.

[@mikebrown41182]

100 true! Dont know what he is talking about thb.

[@alexandrumircea]

Didrick Namtvedt there is a Trex vs Triceratops fight in Jurassic Park The Game, which is "soft cannon"

[@SMC01ful]

Great lecture, it's amazing what happens in three years. Now, scientists believe big T-Rex's probably weighed upwards of 9-12 tonnes. 5 is somewhat scrawny; hence, juvenile by today's estimates.

[@7777Scion]

nah - Sue is estimated at the largest to be 8 or so ...

[@francissemyon7971]

7777Scion Sue ranges up to 9.5 tonnes.

[@7777Scion]

those estimates are wishful thinking - seven to eight tons is more likely

[@francissemyon7971]

7777Scion Nope. Check Hartman, Hutchinson and soon a new paper by Erick Snively. Data, nothing wishful.

[@7777Scion]

That's just their opinion - I am in constant contact with other researchers who specialize in tyrant dinos and they disagree with their conclusions.

[@markusnavergard2387]

what would one name a native scottish dinosaur?

[@WaterShowsProd]

William Wallasaurus?

[@1959Berre]

Nessy...

[@thomasmacken9721]

JOCK

[@matthewturner2803]

Tyrannosaurus McRex

[@ebervaliusahau2289]

Charcharodontosaurids and Spinosaurids: Are we a joke to you?

[@BarbaraBastron]

His “tutting” is driving me crazy. He punctuates every comma and every period with a “tsk”.

[@WaterShowsProd]

That was bothering me as well. Along with some of his odd interjections. I assumed he was nervous speaking in front of an audience.

[@MK-fy8uz]

i hadn't noticed until i read this comment. now it's all i can focus on :/

[@TheTeacher1020]

Yes, the tsk tsk is maddening. At least he doesn’t go umm umm umm.

[@AlphaNumeric123]

It seems like the problem is with the miking, at least in part. The mic isn’t supposed to pick up mouth sounds like that. Seems to me it could have been dialed back a bit

[@mv11000]

Just watch something else, problem solved.

[@thatdutchguy2882]

Itsa lika the Ferrari of the Cretaceous si,..no 😲⁉

[@williambradfordbaldwin4386]

I think this is before Spinosaurus was discovered was described as the largest!

[@Godeater13273]

Spinosaurus is the longest at 15 meters but it weighs less than Tyrannosaurus. Spinosaurus weighs around 6 to 7 tons Tyrannosaurus weighs 8 to maybe 9 tons so at the moment Tyrannosaurus is larger.

[@chicagopianou86]

I think they are far more scary with feathers!

[@RogueBrit]

Spinosaurus 8 tonnes was bigger than T Rex and not really an aquatic dinosaur

[@SimonSozzi7258]

How awkward is the intro!

[@mickobrien3156]

I thought the same thing. It's embarrassingly cheesy to list your credits like that. I thought they were also going to mention that in first grade he also once got a gold star, too.

[@Btn1136]

He tried his best to salvage it, but, yeah, so bizarre.

[@Wilantonjakov]

biggest predator to live on land? Forget Giganotosaurus? Spinosaurus? Mapusaurus? Carcharodontosaurus?

[@7777Scion]

it was heavier than all of them, except maybe Spino - the jury is still out on how big and heavy it actually was - lots of downsizing has occurred recently

[@francissemyon7971]

7777Scion Spinosaurus is estimated at 6000-7000 kg by Maganuco et al. who are behind the 2014 publication.

[@francissemyon7971]

markkil The paleontologists such as Maganuco or Dal Sasso or Sereno who ARE the Spinosaurus specialists, totally disagree with you. Spinosaurus was longer and lighter than the biggest tyrannosaurids.

[@francissemyon7971]

markkil Ibrahim et al. 2014 performed a volumetric analysis of the Spinosaurus model and concluded that the 15 m adult would weigh 7 tonnes. Franoys on deviant got similar results. Whilst several T. rex specimens clearly reaches and exceeds 8 tonnes. There is currently no question about that.

[@francissemyon7971]

markkil Read Franoys works and all the recent analysis. So far the only theropod specimen that could rival, in body mass, the largest Tyrannosaurus specimens is the largest but most fragmentary Mapusaurus specimens. All the other carcharodontosaurids are at most one to two tonnes lighter. The most recent analysis of Spinosaurus skeletal remains leave no doubts about that, wheter its actual stance and the exact size of the legs, it was a very narrow, shallow torso animal compared to carcharodontosaurids and even more to tyrannosaurids.

[@jvt1226]

Video starts at 16 min.

[@iansutcliffe9216]

LOL all these little keyboard professors in the comments trying to call him out based on their corny ass Jurassic Park educations. I think the guy who has named at least 15 new species probably knows more than you guys do about the entire scope of the dinosaur kingdom, especially theropods. Why don't you noobs just go fanboy about Megalodon on some cryptozoology video?

[@Godeater13273]

agree man way to many keyboard experts these days even going as far to verbally insult the palaeontologists i mean look at what happend with Spinosaurus

[@deadmeme8973]

>Krasnoyarsk >A Very Small Region HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@WaterShowsProd]

He mawkishly admits that large herbivores were dying off, but doesn't mention the mass extinction of foraminifera that predates the impact, nor the Deccan Traps, nor the land-bridge (which might explain how tyrannosaurs got to North America in the first place), but is quite certain that an asteroid, or comet, impact caused a global extinction on land and in the seas across the globe, which had coincidentally already begun long before the impact occurred. His fascinating expertise is obviously in the rise of tyrannosaurs, but not in their disappearance. Interesting to note: the difference in age between the earliest tyrannosaurs and tyrannosaurus rex is longer than that of late Cretaceous theropods and their closest living relatives: chickens.

[@bernardedwards8461]

It is a strange thought that not only was there a dinosaur weighing next to nothing, but it still exists. I refer to the Bee Hummingbird, which weighs about the same as a £1 coin! A far cry from the 100 ton sauropods. Palaeontologists tend to jump onto bandwagons: the feathered dinosaur band waggon, the brightly patterened colourful dinosaur band waggon, the polar dinosaur able to survive four months of total darkness band waggon, and others. There is some truth in all these bandwaggons, but some palaeontologists tend to extrapolate them too far. Colourful dinosaurs were probably limited to very small ones, just as they are today. Large animals like rhinos, elephants, hippos, bison, moose, buffalo, seladang,crocs etc tend to be dull and subdued in colour.

[@garth56]

we also know NOW Trex did not have feathers

[@rcherLansky]

...and they never found a T rex fossil either.

[@stampedingviking]

Not necessarily, just that no T Rex has been found with feathers. Doesn't mean they didn't have some.

[@Tyrannosaurine]

stampedingviking they’ve found many skin impressions now. All areas we know, for example, Yutyrannus had feathers, but here we found a scaly reptilian style skin. The skull likely had crocodilian style skin

[@lutzderlurch7877]

„Human sized“ is pretty meaningless and not helpful when discussing animals so different from humans.

[@Tyrannosaurine]

I think it’s a pretty decent reference point that “people” would easily understand.

[@get2rog]

'He was a rich, white guy'...really fed up of people highlighting skin colour in just about everything.

[@sforza209]

You yourself just brought up skin color. So your part of the problem.

[@ChurchoftheUpsideDownKingdom]

You're being idiotic. The man Brusatte talked about was obsessed with eugenics and racial superiority. If anyone was highlighting skin color, it was Osborn. It would've been irresponsible of the speaker to sanitize his subject.

[@MrTrenttness]

White hatred in dinosaur lecture?

[@cccarroll6116]

Yes, I noticed that immediately. Guess you know where his funding comes from.

[@bearcatracing007]

It's become popular these days, forget all the good and only focus on the bad.

[@rexferalman4543]

I was waiting for him to tell us that Dino's came in over 75 sexes more than just male and female. Over 100 when one takes into account how a T Rex may have chosen to identify as that day. "Paleo-Politically-Correct-Pronouns" lmao

[@Erikaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

I love how right wingers talk about how much they love science and how leftists hate science but the moment actual scientists disagree with them they freak out and blame PC culture. I'm sorry you got triggered by the fact that scientists don't agree with your deranged world-view. Go back to your safe spaces.

[@joejoeington6899]

4 minutes 30 seconds in and he already says something wrong

[@DiegoArmandoPulidoRamos]

+joe joeington Nope

[@jackrobinson5671]

when he says "biggest", he doesn't mean that literally, he's trying to make a point about how popular it is. He fully acknowledges that there are bigger dinosaurs when he talks about sauropods later in the lecture

[@bazpearce9993]

I agree. Spinosaurus and Giganotasurus were way bigger than T-Rex.

[@trollzynisaacjohan1793]

longer yes. heavier no. A tyrannosaur was walking tank that could run pretty fast.

[@uw0t314]

Trollzyn/Trazyn based on his book, T. rex could run pretty fast, but had to rely on the element of surprise as it had shit stamina

[@boobio1]

His lip smacking is awful.

[@mickobrien3156]

That intro... Stephen... Did you make them say all that... I've never heard such a ridiculously long credit listing... You forgot to mention your momma thinks you're special, too... Just start the damn lecture and let that speak for itself. Damn!

[@kyoatbites7865]

glad i didnt pay to hear this guy speak

[@Sugefut]

All that pageantry, and then the speaker's microphone turns into a potato. What a half-assed lecture.

[@dianasaur2131]

Lol what evolution?

[@Neorott]

Please stop smacking your lips, it's gross when magnified by my headphones.

[@gaz1tinsley]

Wow, isnt it just so amazing that this so called tyrannosaur genius never brought up the really important issue of soft tissue and blood cells that were found in the bones of a t rex ! also notice on the q&a how quickly he skipped past the feather q. also on the q&a all his actions really stood out as being a total liar ! He must have said evolution said evolution about 40 times trying reinforce everything he said ! MUPPET ! WHAT IS SCATLAND ????

White man?! Why isn't that a racial term? Whats wrong with denying people came from africa. its a fair and square conclusion. I'm creationist and its not Asia either but whats with the left wing agenda. Yes T rex is like a bird because it is a bird. there are no such things as dinosaurs. these critters were just flightless ground birds in a spectrum of diversity. it was false classification that was rejecting biblical concepts of KINDS. theropods are not reptiles in any way. they are just big birds. big ducks. Big penguins. big emus with teeth. thats why they have wish lones and possibly feathers and atrophied limbs. I desire them to be found with feathers but I hear that evolutionist researchers deny thy are feathers. isn't china a oppresive dictaorship? Why does this dude not care? why is he in Scotland getting the scots stuff? Hmmm.

[@xxxsaraHelloxxx]

Birds ☄️. Misinformation again

[@perry92964]

so why did he say a rich white guy? woke five years ago 100 million years is a long time for a speices to evolve into a totally different animal so calling a dinosaur a tyranosaur from 170 million years ago is bad science. i only made it to 20 min.

[@majungasaurusaaaa]

Unfortunately most of paleo is woke.

[@garrisonnichols7372]

Why does a guy from the early 20th century's political and racial views even matter? 🙄 Save your PC BS and let's learn about dinosaurs. That's why we're here!