T. rex is already the most metal dinosaur ever, but a new exhibit at New York City’s Museum of Natural History has forever enshrined the predator as a heavy metal icon. Scientists just produced “the most scientifically accurate representation of T. rex to date,” and it has a killer mullet.

‘The Ultimate Predator’ was the owner of the ultimate mullet. Over a hundred years after the first T. rex skeleton was discovered in 1902, paleontologists now believe the creature sported patches of feathers and developed a beer gut from non-stop eating.

AMNH/R. Mickens
AMNH/R. Mickens
loading...

According to the museum, T. rex put on weight as quickly as 140 pounds per month during its developmental stages. As a baby, it was the size of a turkey, was covered in feathers and had relatively long arms compared to its adult form. T. rex would reach its full size during its 20s, growing at relatively the same speed as a human does.

The full-grown T. rex had “a bit of a toupee,” says curator Mark Norell. By that, he essentially means mid-90s James Hetfield, only more glorious and going halfway down its back.

AMNH/D. Finnin
AMNH/D. Finnin
loading...

As for the dino’s additional metal attributes, scientists say T. rex could bite down with roughly 7,800 pounds of force and that each tooth was the size of a banana.

Scientists still aren’t sure about the sound of the T. rex roar. “Some people have speculated by looking at birds, which are dinosaurs, and also crocodiles . . . it’s so big it would’ve had a deep, bellowing sound, not roaring like a lion,” says paleontologist Gregory Erickson. Dinosaur lovers will be able to play with a “roar mixer” at the museum. The interactive technology mixes sounds of modern-day elephants, bison, whales and crocodiles, so people can get creative with their own interpretive T. rex noises. [via New York Post]

T. Rex: The Ultimate Predator is now open at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

All Metallica Songs Ranked

More From Noisecreep