Thomas Carr

Thomas D. Carr is a vertebrate paleontologist and professor at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, whose research focuses on tyrannosaurid dinosaurs. He specializes in skull anatomy, growth-related changes (ontogeny), and evolutionary relationships among tyrannosaur species. His work has contributed significantly to understanding how Tyrannosaurus rex and its relatives changed as they matured.

Thomas Carr is a professor at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he teaches in the biology department and conducts paleontological research. He is also associated with the Carthage Institute of Paleontology. His fieldwork has included expeditions to Cretaceous-age deposits in the western United States.

Carr has published detailed studies on tyrannosaurid growth series, showing that Tyrannosaurus rex underwent dramatic changes in skull proportions and surface texture as it matured from juvenile to adult. His research has helped establish objective criteria for identifying growth stages in tyrannosaur fossils. He has also contributed to the ongoing debate over whether certain specimens represent juvenile T. rex or a distinct dwarf species called Nanotyrannus.

Yes, Thomas Carr has studied the tyrannosaurid specimen nicknamed 'Jane' at the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, Illinois, and has published research arguing that such specimens represent juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex rather than a separate species. The Nanotyrannus versus juvenile T. rex debate remains one of the most discussed controversies in tyrannosaur paleontology. Carr's growth-series analysis has been central to the scientific arguments on this question.