Science and Tech

There are many museums with dinosaurs, but only one with a couple of Tyrannosaurs having sex (and it is in Asturias)

Jurassic Museum of Asturias

In the coastal area of ​​San Telmo (Asturias) a historical fact occurs: there, a long time ago, some of the most fascinating creatures on the planet lived. In fact, traces of dinosaurs have been found that They populated the region 150 million years ago. Its importance is such that in the enclave the Jurassic Museum of Asturias (MUJA)the only one, as far as we know, who has ventured with the reconstruction of two Tyrannosaurs in a sexual encounter.

Sex between dinosaurs. The MUJA does not need claims for people to come en masse, but there is no doubt that the mating tyrannosaurs are one of the great attractions. To achieve the reconstruction, the researchers made scale models with which to establish the foundations of the scene. Then, the two tyrannosaurus skeletons were modified and adapted to express sexual dimorphism. The final result, although it still raised “theoretical problems”, was a complete success.


Jurassic Museum of Asturias

Museum exterior

A pairing due to the demands of the script. The curious thing about the history of this reconstruction is that, in reality, It was a requirement, not a naive initiative to attract the masses. Apparently, the architecture of the MUJA represents a tridactyl dinosaur footprint, the third of which is dedicated to the Cretaceous period and the paleobiology of the creatures.

In the first sketches, the central area of ​​the finger was occupied by the diorama of a hunting scene, but the idea did not convince and they thought of something more powerful. With the first part of the Cretaceous area being an event dedicated to sexual dimorphism and reproductive biology in dinosaurs, what better idea than to represent the mating of two T-Rex?

Interior of the Jurassic Museum of Asturias
Interior of the Jurassic Museum of Asturias

Rest of the “works”. The museum, of course, has much more. Through the three large areas of the Mesozoic (Triassic, Jurassic and Creatasic) visitors go through the entire history of these creatures, the most notable area being that which makes up the fossils from the Asturian coast divided into ichnites, remains of vertebrates, plant fossils, fragments of trunks and invertebrate elements.

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Tyrannosaurs copulating in real life. In paleontological terms, one of the great challenges has to do with deciphering the behavior of creatures that, as in the case of dinos, lived when we did not exist. In addition, dinosaurs have sexual dimorphism, that is, males and females have apparent differences. Of the thirty remains of Tyrannosaurus found, the way in which the spinal column is attached has been key to suggesting the differences between both sexes (the same thing happens with, for example, crocodiles).

Muja 02
Muja 02

Recreation of a Dilophosaurus outside the MUJA

In 1994, a study theorized about copulation. The work told that the T-rex males. They had a penis, and with the member they penetrated their partner in a very similar way to how ostriches do. The same work suggested that the Tyrannosaurus species is monogamous and maintained family groups. As for the posture, it was theorized that it would also be similar to that of ostriches, that is, with the male’s body “mounted” on the female, penetrating from behind.

In that case, it would be aligned with the reconstruction of the MUJA. That said, today we still do not know exactly how they had sex.

Image | Modest Mario, Alonso de Mendoza, Alonso de Mendoza, Noemy García García

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