Perfect Tyrannosaurus Rex skull prepped for Leiden museum

The skull of Naturalis' Tyrannosaurus Rex is in Europe and is currently being transported from Germany to Amsterdam, the biodiversity center announced on Tuesday. The 66 million year old fossil has been scanned by an industrial CT scanner at the Fraunhofer EZRT in Germany. The skull is now on it's way back to the United States, via Amsterdam, for preparation.

The Tyrannosaurus Rex was excavated in Montana, USA in 2013. The bones were then carefully packed in plaster-burlap bandages to keep the bones safe. According to Naturalis, the skull is about 1.5 meters wide and weighs more than half a ton, including the sand and plaster.

From the outside it seems that the skull had not been deformed in the past 66 million years, which means that there is a good chance that even the smallest parts of the skull are in tact. The results of the scan should make it possible to work much more accurately in the preparation of the fossil.

The skull is now heading back to the Black Hills Institute in the United States to be further prepared, reinforced and mounted in a metal frame. It should be ready for exhibition in the second half in 2016. The Tyrannosaurus Rex will get a place of honor in the new Naturalis museum as soon as the construction of the museum is complete.