(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A new examination into famous T. rex fossil SUE raises questions about how the specimen’s skull became disfigured — and, in a roundabout way, whether the animal was attracted to dinosaurs of its own gender nearly 70 million years ago.
A newly released study examines the large holes — some as big as golf balls — found along SUE’s left jawline. A popular theory had been that a parasitic organism burrowed into the jaw of the fearsome beast.
But researchers appear to have ruled that out. They say the holes resemble bone injuries and note that SUE’s jaw was partially healed by the time the animal died around age 30.
“These holes in SUE’s jaw have been a mystery for decades,” said study co-author Jingmai O’Connor, associate curator of fossil reptiles at the Field Museum of Chicago, which owns SUE. “Nobody knows how they formed, and there have been lots of guesses.”
Now comes this guess, from study co-author Bruce Rothschild. He reportedly theorizes the holes are claw or bite marks, possibly from courtship behavior — maybe even between two male T. rex specimens.
SUE is named for the Sue Hendrickson, who is credited with finding the fossil in South Dakota in 1990. The actual gender of SUE the T. rex has never been established, and it’s possible SUE was male.
A Field Museum article about the study notes there are examples of same-sex activity in nature.
“The ‘gay T. rex’ hypothesis is fun, but I don’t think there’s enough evidence to support it one way or the other,” O’Connor says.
O’Connor says she doesn’t agree with Rothschild about how the holes were made in SUE’s skull. “They’re just random, all over the place.”
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