There are some significant differences between a T. Rex and a chicken.
The discovery of a small piece of fossilized dinosaur flesh allowed scientists to conduct biological testing and comparison between Tyrannosaurus Rex genes and the genes of living animals. Based on their findings, scientists believe the closest genetic descendant of the fearsome T. Rex is the chicken. Yet despite these genetic similarities, there are significant differences between a T. Rex and a chicken.
Similarities
After the discovery of the 68 million year old Tyrannosaurus rex remains, researchers took a few grams of material from the lining in the thighbone, which was then ground down to about a billionth of a gram of material. This made it small enough to be analyzed with a mass spectrometer. Biochemical analysis of the sample revealed seven different proteins that are also found in chickens. "Based on the small sample we've recovered," said geneticist John Asara of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, who worked on the project, "chickens may be the closest living relatives [to T. Rex]."
Biological Signature
Asara noted that of those seven similar sequences, "three matched chickens uniquely." Differences in the other four sequences indicated that they were not uniquely matched. The differences in the remaining four sequences were telling, however, with one sequence that matched a frog uniquely, another that matched a newt, and two that matched multiple sequences. Ultimately, said Asara, the biological signature of a T. Rex closer to that of a bird than to any other living species.
Physical Differences
The physical differences between a T. Rex and a chicken are fairly obvious. A chicken, for example, is significantly smaller than a T. Rex, which was estimated to be more than 20 feet high and weighed close to 60,000 pounds. Furthermore, scientists posit that a T. Rex's skin was thick and leathery, while a chicken's skin is softer and covered with feathers. Chickens have beaks with no teeth, while a T. Rex had huge sharp teeth, reaching up to 13 inches in length. Perhaps the biggest difference between the two, however, is that the T. Rex has been extinct for millions of years and chickens still exist.
Difference in Taste
In an article on the Slate website, writer Brian Palmer examines various factors to determine what T. Rex meat may have tasted like. The verdict: not like chicken. Although the biological evidence may suggest T. Rex meat would taste like chicken, numerous factors determine the taste of an animal's meat, ranging from muscle composition to diet. A T. Rex's diet was substantially different from the grain eaten by chickens, which would lead to a far different flavor of meat.
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