A new paleontology study using isotope analysis of T. rex tooth enamel estimates the dinosaur’s average body temperature at about 36°C — clearly below the higher values previously inferred from growth-rate models. The result offers fresh evidence in the long-running debate over whether dinosaurs were warm-blooded, cold-blooded, or something in between.

Key Details

Carbon and oxygen isotope ratios in tooth enamel preserve body temperature information from the final weeks to months of an animal’s life. The team analyzed multiple T. rex specimens and found a consistent result near 36°C. That value sits between typical reptiles and modern birds, suggesting T. rex had a distinct “intermediate” metabolic system — neither fully cold-blooded nor as warm as modern mammals. The same method can now be applied to other dinosaur species.

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