Friday, August 16, 2024

How big is the T. rex specimen BHI 6248 ("E.D. Cope")?

At the beginning of this year, I learned about a new challenger to the "Biggest T. rex Specimen" title. The specimen is called BHI 6248, also nicknamed "E. D. Cope." The nickname comes from one Edward Drinker Cope, the arch nemesis of Dr. Othniel Charles Marsh during the notorious "Bone Wars" era of primitive Paleontology. I learned about this from a YouTuber that I'm friends with called The Vividen. Then this week on Instagram, my friend "Luke Skywalker Jedi Knight 27" (I'm going to call him "Luke" for now on) reminded me about the specimen. I've been meaning to discuss BHI 6248, but there's a problem: No figures or pictures of the fossils with a scale bar are present at the moment. Therefore, I usually wait a while to talk about a specimen until I can find the pics, or figures, that I need to make an estimate of the body size. However, thanks to "Luke" and Reddit, I found a picture of the leg bones of BHI 6248 that will be sufficient for now. Please take this measurement with a grain of salt until I can find better pictures, or figures, of the bones.

First off, Larson (2008) did briefly write about this specimen in Larson and Carpenter (2008):

P. 37:

P. 38:
For more information, check out the link to the Reddit post below. Now, let's get to measuring!

Leg bones (Reddit, r/Dinosaurs, "What makes me feel strange is that no one here has ever discussed this super giant specimen of Tyrannosaurus Rex..."):

My friend "Luke," who gave me the pic, said that the T. rex toy was 12 inches long:
The 12-inch measurement for the toy was correct (Michaels, Safari Ltd Feathered Tyrannosaurus Rex Toy) (Safari Ltd. Feathered T-rex Toy). Therefore, I will be using the toy as my measurement for the femur.

The Percentage Increase/Decrease Method:
1. Take new number and subtract it from original number.
2. Take that number and divide it by the original number and multiply by 100.
3. That number will by your percentage increase or decrease if it's negative.

Ex.: "Stan's" Femur is 130 and has a body length of 12.2 meters. "Wyrex" has a femur length of 132.7 cm.

132.7 - 130 = 2.7.
2.7 divided by (represented by "/") and multiplied by (represented by "*") equals 2.1.
(2.7/130*100 = 2.1)
2.1 is your percentage increase, or 2.1% increase.
12.2 m + 2.1% = 12.5 meters for "Wyrex."

Links:
Percentage Increase/Decrease Method Links:
"Percentage Change - Percentage Increase and Decrease." SkillsYouNeed:
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/num/percent-change.html
"Relative Increase." percentage.calculators.ro:
https://percentages.calculators.ro/15-percentage-increase-from-original-number-to-new-value.php

Measurements:
Length: 62.5 cm (at best) (158.75 cm) (Measured on 8/15/24 on the straight/right side).

Body length:
Ex. 1:
FMNH 2081/BHI 2033:
Length: 45 feet (13.6 meters).
Femur: 143 cm.

158.75 - 143 = 15.75.
15.75/143*100 = 11.01% increase.
13.6 m + 11.0% = 50 feet (15.1 meters).

Ex. 2:
RSM 2523.8 ("Scotty"):
Length: 46 feet (14.1 meters).
Femur: 148.5 cm.

158.75 - 148.5 = 10.25.
10.25/148.5*100 = 6.9% increase.
14.1 m + 6.9% = 50 feet (15.1 meters).

BHI 6248's Total Length: 50 feet (15.1 meters).

It appears that BHI 6248 could've been longer than both "Sue" and "Scotty," but as I've stated before, please wait until a picture or figure of the bones with a scale bar can be found for a more accurate body length estimate.

Links:
Reddit post:
-Pic:
https://images.app.goo.gl/FjEhCP3HMaQYvpKq7
-Post (Reddit, r/Dinosaurs, "What makes me feel strange is that no one here has ever discussed this super giant specimen of Tyrannosaurus Rex..."):
https://www.reddit.com/r/Dinosaurs/comments/15y0wu4/what_makes_me_feel_strange_is_that_no_one_here/
Larson (2008; in Larson and Carpenter, 2008) (PP. 37-38): 
https://books.google.com/books?id=5WH9RnfKco4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Tyrannosaurus+BHI+6248&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&ovdme=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwigs4ql3O2HAxUiD1kFHf1CINA4ChDoAXoECAQQAw#v=onepage&q=Tyrannosaurus%20BHI%206248&f=false
Michaels. Safari Ltd Feathered Tyrannosaurus Rex Toy:
https://www.michaels.com/product/safari-ltd-feathered-tyrannosaurus-rex-toy-10662485?cm_mmc=PLASearch-_-google-_-MICH_Shopping_US_N_Kids_N_PMAX_BOPIS_N-_-&Kenshoo_ida=&kpid=go_cmp-18514200221_adg-_ad-__dev-c_ext-_prd-10662485&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwq_G1BhCSARIsACc7Nxp9Y0I_JGcM8djLpU8-5UgAIfgHObIlIR1NRCeMhC8AehuisWpyvEoaAkcbEALw_wcB
Safari Ltd. Feathered T-rex Toy:
https://www.safariltd.com/products/feathered-tyrannosaurus-rex-figurine?variant=5224181399589&utm_source=adwords&utm_campaign=**LP+Smart+Shopping+-+Wildlife&utm_medium=ppc&utm_term=&hsa_ver=3&hsa_grp=&hsa_acc=2129352416&hsa_ad=&hsa_src=x&hsa_tgt=&hsa_kw=&hsa_cam=18312330198&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwq_G1BhCSARIsACc7NxqU0GHlDdkLFl2w1vPiHwwaSHKJyl56PUyuqX6bUGpXpMMQ2a8A_LwaApStEALw_wcB