1)    Scientific and Educational Significance of “Tinker”:

 As the smallest known articulated skeleton of Tyrannosaurus rex, “Tinker” can provide ontogenetic information not available from any other specimens. The shapes of the maxilla and dentary, for example, clearly show that the snout was relatively longer and lower that any other specimens of this species. This matches a trend that has already been noted in other tyrannosaurs, including Albertosaurus, Daspletosaurus, Gorgosaurus and Tarbosaurus. This supports a proposal to synonymize Tyrannosaurus and Nanotyrannus because they form a single ontogenetic series in skull shape. However, this tendency for tyrannosaur skulls to be longer and lower is not just ontogenetic, it is in fact size dependent. Smaller tyrannosaur species have longer, lower skulls and jaws than the larger species. A diagnostic difference between Nanotyrannus and Tyrannosaurus is the maxillary tooth count, which is fourteen in the former and eleven or twelve in the latter. It has been proposed that the higher number in Nanotyrannus is a juvenile characteristic. This trend has not been found in other tyrannosaurs where good ontogenetic series are known. “Tinker” also falsifies this hypothesis because as the smallest undoubted T. rex, it has twelve maxillary teeth.

            Tyrannosaurus rex is arguably the most famous dinosaur throughout the world. Based on question we get from children and the number of occurrences in popular media (books, comics, cartoons, films etc. ), it is also the world’s favorite dinosaur. Having “Tinker” would clearly provide many opportunities for educational programming and publicity.