02/06/2026
🦖 What are those spiky bits on the neck?
T. rex and Albertosaurus
We get asked this a lot!
Those “spikes” are actually cervical ribs, specialised, paired bones attached to the neck vertebrae. They provided support to the skull may have helped tyrannosaurs control their enormous heads and powerful bite.
Instead of wrapping around the body like chest ribs, they ran parallel along the length of the neck. In tyrannosaurs, they were short, strong, and robust, and not fully fused, allowing a bit of movement
These ribs may have played a critical role as muscle attachment, strong anchor points for major neck muscles. their structure gave the neck both stability and flexibility with controlled movement.
Tyrannosaurus rex had a massive skull, and its neck had to withstand huge forces of pulling, tearing, and shaking prey.
In Albertosaurus cervical ribs are slightly more slender and gracile
They are still elongated, but not as heavily built and reflect a lighter, more agile skull and feeding style.
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Photo: left Albertosaurus, right T.rex
