Celebrate the longest reigning royal -- the tyrant lizard king

Terrifying, fierce, impressive, famously tiny armed … Canadian? Visit ROM this summer and learn about the tyrant lizard king that once ruled over parts of Canada and the world, the Tyrannosaurus rex.

On now, ROM's T. rex: The Ultimate Predator exhibition, presented by Desjardins Group, seeks to answer some common questions and shine a light on the tyrannosaurus family of dinosaurs that ruled the world more than 66 million years ago.

For example, did you know that T. rex (rex is Latin for king) hatchlings were gangly and turkey-sized? That T. rex could digest bones? Or, that the T. rex once roamed the prehistoric region of the world that is now Canada? Yes, Canada.

Along with the more than 40 models and casts — many full-sized and towering over guests — visitors to the exhibition can dig into the paleontological process with a special ROM feature section highlighting actual fieldwork from a recent Museum-led tyrannosaur dig. This section of the exhibition includes the toothy jawbone from a giant Daspletosaurus, a close cousin of T. rex, unearthed just last summer from a site near the hamlet of Manyberries, Alta., and a look at how the ROM team unearths and prepares fossils for study and display.

The evolution of the T. rex over millions of years is also illustrated with the use of real bones discovered in Canada, including the fossil skulls of an Albertosaurus sarcophagus and a Gorgosaurus libratus. There is also a stunning, original, four-and-a-half-foot-long T. rex skull from Alberta’s Royal Tyrrell Museum — one of only three T. rex skeletons ever found in Canada and the first time a T. rex skull has been on display in Toronto.

Tickets to T. rex: The Ultimate Predator start at $8 plus general admission for children and $13 plus general admission for adults. Book tickets at rom.ca.