What would it feel like to reach out and touch a Tyrannosaurus rex? Would the beast be covered in hard armor like an alligator or smooth feathers like an ostrich? Or might the tactile truth lurk somewhere in between?

Today, thanks to a study of fossilized dinosaur skin published in Biology Letters, we may finally have an answer. Persons and his colleagues examined new skin impressions taken from T. rex fossils discovered near Baker, Montana, and compared them with fossils of other tyrannosaurs, including Albertosaurus, Daspletosaurus, Gorgosaurus, and Tarbosaurus.

The team found a pattern among the tyrannosaur kin: they all had skin textured with small, pebbly scales and not fuzzy plumage.

“Now that we’ve found these multiple patches of preserved tyrannosaur hide