Since the dawn of modern paleontology, mankind has struggled to answer one elusive question: Why did the T-Rex have such tiny arms?
A Google search on the topic revealed a variety of possible answers ranging from “God wanted to give us all something to laugh at” to “The tiny arms were used to tickle their mates like constrictor snakes do with anal spurs which are likewise the vestigial remnants of hind legs.”
The prevailing theory neatly summed up: “T-Rex had little arms because with jaws and teeth like that, who needs big guns?”
Will the Memphis Zoo’s “Dinosaurs” exhibit shed any new light on the topic?
Probably not. But it lets visitors to the park get close to a baby Tyrannosaurus and 14 other lifesized animatronic dinosaurs in prehistoric habitats. Other dinosaurs in the exhibit include Dilophosaurus, the double-crested flesh-eating nightmare; Therizinosaurus, a herbivore with long, scythe-like claws; and Styracosaurus, an animal so ridiculous looking it was probably mocked into extinction by other dinosaurs.
And if the zoo’s robotic reptiles leave you wanting to know even more, “Dinosaurs: Land of Fire and Ice” is at the Children’s Museum of Memphis through May 13th. The CMOM exhibit introduces kids to the dirty work of a paleontologist in the field and teaches them about the relationship of different dinosaurs to their habitats.
“Dinosaurs: Land of Fire and Ice,” the Children’s Museum of Memphis, through May 13th. Free to members, $12 nonmembers.
“Dinosaurs,” the Memphis zoo, March 10th – July 8th, $3 for members, $4 for nonmembers.
