Washington - Make no bones about it: there was a dinosaur watch afoot in the US capital as the National Museum of Natural History in Washington took delivery of a 66-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton.
Once assembled, the T rex will serve as the centrepiece of the new dinosaur exhibit at the museum.
With almost 85 percent of the skeleton, it is one of the most complete examples of the extinct animal ever found, museum representative Elizabeth Duggal said.
Scientists say that when the dinosaur was alive it was approximately 12 metres long and weighed up to five tons. It will be some time before the skeleton assumes its full glory.
The museum's new dinosaur hall is not expected to open until 2019. Until then, visitors can watch as scientists painstakingly knit together the T rex's bones.
On Tuesday there was one femur bone on display. Children above all find the exhibit thrilling. “I came to Washington to see the T rex. It's so cool,” said an 11-year-old from Los Angeles. - Sapa-dpa