A rare giant Tyrannosaurus Rex is set to go on display at Melbourne Museum for the first time.
Up to a quarter of a million people are expected to come face-to-face with one of the most well-preserved dinosaur fossils on the planet.
The dinosaur, aptly named Victoria, is set to go on display at Melbourne Museum 66 million years after once roaming earth.
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Palaeontologist Dr Erich Fitzgerald said it was “the thing of dreams for a lifelong dinosaur nut”.
“The bones have really been through the geological ringer over millions and millions of years of compaction, tearing, breakage, bending and these fossil bones are unusually well preserved,” he said.
The fossil was found in South Dakota in 2013 and she’s remarkably almost 70 per cent intact.
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Victoria is made of 199 bones, spans more than 12 metres and towers at 3.6 metres tall.
“We think it’s going to inspire wonder and joy in visitors of all ages and stages,” Melbourne Museum chief executive Linley Croswell said.
“I’ve never seen such a group of excited palaeontologists, ever.”
Melbourne Museum is already the home to Horridus, a triceratops.
With both dinosaur fossils set to be on display at the same time, Melbourne will be the only place in the world to take in two incredible specimens.
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“You just will not be able to do this anywhere else for, who knows how many years,” Crowell said.
The ticketed exhibit opens to the public on June 28 just in time for school holidays.
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