Review and Photographs by Bryan Divers, edited by Suspsy
Sue, the Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, which is on display at the Field Museum in Chicago, is the largest and most complete specimen in the world. Discovered in 1990, she (or he) was named for Susan Hendrickson, the woman who found the specimen. Incredibly, after ownership disputes the fossil was auctioned for $8.3 million. Thankfully, the fossil was purchased by the museum and not simply a private collector, or we might never have seen it again.
This is a plush version of Sue made by Wild Republic specifically for the Field Museum’s gift shop. It reminds me greatly of the Tyrannosaurus on the cover for the IMAX movie T. rex Back to the Cretaceous with Liz Stauber. It measures about 14 inches long. The fabric is dark gray with brown accents and has a scaly texture.
The mouth is open with pink for the lining and tongue and white felt teeth. The belly is a light gray. The arms have two fingers with brown felt claws and the feet have three toes with the same felt claws. The tail is held straight behind the body rather than being dragged on the ground or bent backwards as is the design in many dinosaur toys. However, the tip of the tail has to rest slightly on the ground for the dinosaur to stand.
I like the eyes, which are very expressive. The dinosaur is so detailed that she even has the little bony knobs over the eyes that are characteristic of most carnivorous dinosaurs. The membrane where the dinosaur’s jaws join is evident, and the nostrils are stitched with black thread. Even the kneecaps are visible.
This is a five-star dinosaur in my opinion. It would be very hard to find its equal. Definitely museum quality, and a nice small size for easy transport as well. Sue is my new travel buddy. After all, who wouldn’t enjoy a tiny cuddly T-Rex to keep them company? If you want one of your own, visit the Field Museum or click on this link to order online.
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While I find the overbite real weird, I know I would have loved it as a child anyway. And those modern cloth materials with the reptile skin pattern are really lovely to see in a dinosaur (even if that may be inaccurate).
Actually not inaccurate; it appears on the discovery of more Tyrannosaurus material that although some dinosaurs related to Tyrannosaurus had feathers, it appears that Tyrannosaurus rex was truly a tyrant reptile king. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4579772/Tyrannosaurus-rex-scaly-skin-WASN-T-covered-feathers.html
You would be well advised to read the actual paper rather than a Daily Mail article about it. The skin impressions aren’t at all like modern reptile scales, so Lanthanotus is indeed correct about the inaccuracy of the pattern on this old toy.