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T-Rex Had Feathers Covering Its Body Despite Popular Depictions

By Egleze Editorial Desk · Published July 3, 2026 · Big Think · The mass extinction that accidentally created the dinosaurs | Steve Brusatte
T-Rex Had Feathers Covering Its Body Despite Popular Depictions
Big Think
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The mass extinction that accidentally created the dinosaurs | Steve Brusatte

What was said

"Many dinosaurs had feathers. Many dinosaurs had feathers all over their bodies. Even some dinosaurs had wings on their arms. Velociraptors had wings on their arms. We know this because we know it directly from fossils, from real fossils. Now these fossils were first found in the mid-90s. One is a little dog-sized Tyrannosaur called D-Long, a primitive one. The other one is called Eutyranus. It's about 30 feet or about 8 or 9 meters long. It weighed over a ton. And that means that T-Rex itself probably had some kind of feather."

Fossils discovered in the 1990s prove that tyrannosaurs, including T-Rex ancestors, had feathers covering their bodies. Brusatte addresses backlash to this finding, noting some feel it diminishes T-Rex's fearsome image, but argues a feathered T-Rex is even more terrifying and that scientists must follow fossil evidence regardless of feelings.

Verification status

Attributed speaker claim

Egleze verified who said this and where. The underlying claim has not been independently established by Egleze.

Source and context

Egleze verified who said this and where. The underlying claim has not been independently established by Egleze.

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Big Think
Episode
The mass extinction that accidentally created the dinosaurs | Steve Brusatte
Clip time
29:21
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Big Think
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The mass extinction that accidentally created the dinosaurs | Steve Brusatte

July 3, 2026 · 1h 44m · 8 Egleze moments
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