1)    What do the experts say?

Paleontologist Dr. Robert T. Bakker from the Wyoming Dinamation Society stated the following: “Tinker” is one of the most scientifically significant and most exciting T.rex skeletons ever found, and one of the most important dinosaur specimens from any age and any locale. “Tinker” is the very first most complete skeletons of a T.rex youngster,  an individual only one-fourth adult weight. Here, for the first time, is an opportunity to study the body build and athletic prowess of a juvenile rex and to investigate the way young rexes chewed their food “Tinker” is the first specimen that allows us to unlock secrets of the T.rex Parent/child bond.

            Even at this very preliminary stage of study, “Tinker” solves several long-standing problems in T.rex biology. The  beautifully preserved teeth are exactly the same configuration seen in full grown rexes, proving that juveniles ate the same food as adults. The “Tinker” specimen also disproves the theory that the strange skull called “Nanotyrannus” is a juvenile rex because the Nano-T teeth are much thinner and more delicate than “Tinker’s “

            The “tinker” skeleton will reveal the body build in a juvenile rex” how long the legs were and how short the muzzle proportions were. In most other predatory dinosaurs, the young have short “puppy” snouts and legs that are longer and more slender in ankle and shin than the adult condition. “Tinker;s” build appears remarkably chunky.

            A very rich mosaic of environmental data is present at the “Tinker” site. Beautifully preserved fossil leaves, stems, nuts, clams and crocodile teeth paint a detailed picture of the local habitat as a quiet ox-bow pond.

            In the movie “Lost World”, Spielberg showed mother and father T.rex bringing prey back to their nest to feed their chick and, later on, the parents displayed great bravery in trying to rescue their youngster kidnapped by humans. That was fiction. Spielberg had no scientific data to indicate what rex chicks looked like and how the parent/child bond worked. “Tinker” takes rex family life out of Hollywood and into the realm of hard science. (Bakker, 1999)