Following my last few posts clearing out my archive of photos of theropod skulls here’s a couple of Tyrannosaurus heads in near ventral view. The upper one is from Oxford and has, I think, a nice background in the glass roof panels, while the lower image is from the IVPP in Beijing.
Looking at the photos, are they casts of the exact same specimen?
I don’t think so, but if they are, they’re of different levels of quality – the Chinese one doesn’t have the more minor fenestra actually open.
The Oxford ‘rex is a cast of the specimen known as “Stan”, the original of which is at the Black Hills Institute. The IVPP T.rex is a cast of a Tyrrell Museum specimen known as “Black Beauty” , another cast of which is on display at the California Academy of Sciences.
Well most of the IVPP one is Black Beauty: https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2008/11/25/deep-inside-black-beauty/ don’t know if that includes the skull though.
Love the irony of black beauty being painted red in the cast.
Simply looking at the premaxillary arcade indicates differences between the casts.