Jane (dinosaur)

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Catalog number:
Common name:	Jane
Species:	Tyrannosaurus rex
Age:	66 mya
Place discovered:	Hell Creek Formation, Montana, United States
Date discovered:	2001
Discovered by:	Carol Tuck and Bill Harrison

Jane is a renowned juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex fossil discovered in the Hell Creek Formation in southern Montana. After four years of preparation, Jane is now on display as the centerpiece of a new exhibit at Rockford, Illinois' Burpee Museum of Natural History called "Jane: Diary of a Dinosaur." Paleontologists believe the tyrannosaur was approximately 11 years old at its time of death.[1] Visitors are able to discover what happened during the 66 million years it lay buried, visit a re-creation of the expedition’s Montana base camp, and view Jane’s fully restored 21.5-foot (6.5 metres) long skeleton.

It was debated whether Jane is a Tyrannosaurus or Nanotyrannus, but when scientists were invited to Rockford to debate on her, they decided that she was a juvenile Tyrannosaurus.

Jane is half as big as its relative "Sue," who is 42.6 feet (13 metres) long and resides at Chicago's Field Museum. Jane's weight was probably nearly 1,500 lbs. Jane’s large feet and long legs indicate it was built for speed and could possibly run as fast as 20-30 miles per hour. Jane’s lower jaw has 17 curved, serrated teeth. Despite having a typically female name, Jane's gender is unknown--the specimen was named after Burpee Museum benefactor Jane Solem. Jane was found in the summer of 2001 by Carol Tuck and Bill Harrison. Ms. Tuck and Mr. Harrison were team members of an expedition led by Burpee Museum curator Michael Henderson.

Rockford's Jane exhibit also contains several scale casts of other dinosaurs, including a 40-foot Tyrannosaurus rex. Jane will soon be joined by a subadult Triceratops named Homer.