A Tyrannosaurus rex named Sue

The magnificent skull of Sue, the largest and most complete T. rex ever found.

Sue has found a good home at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois. The following was a status report back in 1996.

Resume of SUE, the Tyrannosaurus rex

Date of Birth: 65 million years ago(Maastrichtian, upper Cretaceous)

Present Address: Imprisoned in metal storage container in the machine shop, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD

Previous Addresses:

1) 1990-1992 - The Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, Hill City, SD.

2) 65 million years ago to 1990 - Buried in the Hell Creek Formation near Faith, SD.

Permanent Residence Desired: The Black Hills Museum of Natural History in Hill City, SD.

Objectives: Resume my career as a research and display specimen for the world's scientists and children which I enjoyed from 1990-1992 at the BHIGR. Duties to include:

1) Educating Homo sapiens about the wonders of past life on this planet.

2) Revealing intimate details about my personal life and tribulations.

3) Being available again to the 30+ scientists who were studying me prior to my incarceration at the South Dakota School of Mines.

4) Report to NASA for my scheduled CATscan at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville Alabama, a 1992 appointment I was unable to keep due to my arrest and imprisonment.

Physical exam Results, 1991:

- femur 54 inches long.

- complete pelvis.

- nearly complete torso.

- the first nearly complete T. rex tail ever recovered(20 feet long, 30 caudal verts).

- the first complete T. rex shoulder girdle ever found.

- radius, ulna and handbones of the front arms.

- complete rear legs.

- skull 5 feet long, beautifully preserved and articulated.

- lower jaw with many serrated 12 inch long dagger-like teeth.

Cretaceous Health and Medical History:

- Broken and healed leg bone(fibula).

- Broken and healed tail vertebra.

- Poor vision in one eye from facial bite from another T. rex.

- Tooth from another T. rex embedded in one of my neck vertebra.

Cretaceous Associates:

- At least 3 more Tyrannosauri, possibly my family.

- A duckbilled dinosaur (Edmontosaurus annectens bones etched by stomach acids) probably my last meal.

- Assorted Crocodiles, Lizards, Turtles and Fish.

Personal Recommendations Available upon Request from:

- Mr. Peter Larson, Mr. Neal Larson, Mr. Bob Farrar of the BHIGR

- Mr. Terry Wentz, Chief Preparator of my remains at BHIGR.

- The thousands of visitors who saw me during my two years of freedom at the BHIGR

- My hundreds of friends and schoolkids who made signs and protested my seizure.

- The tens of thousands of signatories from all 50 states and more than 12 foreign countries who have petitioned for my return to the Institute.

- The reporters, editors, producers and authors of articles, books, TV and radio shows who have interviewed me.

Book Appearances:

Hunting Dinosaurs by Louis Psihoyos and John Knoebber

The Complete T. rex by John(Jack) Horner and Don Lessem

Law Reviews:

South Dakota Law Journal, Jurassic Farce, by P. K. Duffy and L. A. Lofgren

Indiana Law Journal, Bones of Contention, by David J. Lazerwitz

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Journal, Animal, Mineral or Cultural Antiquity?: The Preservation of Paleontological Resources, by Dorna Sachiki Sakurai

TV Appearances:

Prime Time Live with Sam Donaldson and Diane Sawyer (ABC)

Cronkites Dinosaurs (National Public Television)

NBC Weekend Today ABC World News Tonite

CBC Newscasts(Canada)

BBC Newscasts(UK)

NHK Creative Special(Japan)

Paleoworld (The Learning Channel and Discovery Channel)

Inside Edition

Fox Network News

Grenada TV(England)

Numerous ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN national news broadcasts

Magazine Appearances:

Time

Newsweek

Science

National Geographic

Discover Magazine

Science News

Natural History Magazine

Gakken Dinosaur Magazine (Tokyo, Japan)

Geology Today(UK)

Australian Natural History Magazine (Sidney, Australia)

GeoTimes

New Scientist

Discovery

Lapidary Journal

Ranger Rick Magazine

Audobon Magazine

Outside Magazine

New Republic

American Lawyer

Reason Magazine

The Progressive

Forbes

Life

Penthouse

Philadelphia Enquirer

Newspaper Appearances:

Every daily and weekly newpaper in South Dakota and western Wyoming

London Times

New York Times

Los Angeles Times

Wall Street Journal

USA Today

Washington Times

Reno Gazette-Journal

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Omaha World Herald

Denver Post

Rocky Mountain News

Tucson Citizen

Casper Star Tribune

Richmond Times Dispatch

Clarendon News Tribune

Hays Daily News

Tampa Tribune

Topeka Capital Journal

San Jose Mercury News

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Des Moines Register

Dallas Morning News

Billings Gazette

Indianapolis Star

Lincoln Star Journal

Orlando Sentinel

Salt Lake Tribune

Wyoming State Tribune

Pittsburgh Press

Bismarck Tribune

Huntsville Times News

Sentinel(Ft. Wayne)

Also papers in Canada, Japan, Chine, Greece, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands and Switzerland.

Discoverer Susan Hendrickson stands in front of the skeleton in situ.

Pete Larson works at the Sue site.

Articulated vertebrae are uncovered.

Bones are stabilized in the field prior to jacketing and removal.

Pete Larson works on Sue's skull in the field.

Sue is plaster jacketed into large blocks for transport back to the lab.

Bob Farrar illustrates how Sue's skull has been vertically compressed.

BHI Chief Preparator Terry Wentz points out interesting pathologies:

Sue was bitten across the face and may have been blind in her right eye.

Extra bone growth below eye socket.

Small holes which may have been drains from infection.

A small bony lump on the lower jaw.

Neal Larson shows Sue's front arm.