Wankel T. Rex Skeleton to Arrive at Smithsonian on April 15

In a latest announcement, the National Museum of Natural History said that the 68-million-year-old T.rex fossil, acquired from a museum in Montana, will arrive at Washington April 15.

The 38-foot long 7-ton skeleton called Wankel T.Rex, which is one of the most complete Tyrannosaurus skeletons, will finally arrive at the Smithsonian. The announcement was made on the day when the museum unveiled a cast of the incoming dinosaur's skull that is on view in the Constitution Avenue Lobby.

This rare and intact fossil was preserved at Museum of Rockies in Bozeman, Mont. Since October, it is kept encased in shipping containers as Smithsonian was to receive the fossil in October. But its arrival was at the museum was delayed due to the government furlough.  This is one of the most significant acquisitions made by the museum till date. Under an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the fossil is acquired on a 50 year long agreement.

"I am sure our visitors will be pleased that dinosaurs will continue to be on view at the Smithsonian while the new national fossil hall is being built," museum director Kirk Johnson said in a statement. "The entire Natural History Museum will be alive with excitement as we begin a journey to tell the story of prehistoric Earth by welcoming one of its most famous ambassadors, the Tyrannosaurus rex."

The fossil of this predator T. rex, will be the centerpiece of the museum's new 31,000 square foot national fossil hall, that will open in 2019.

The new fossil hall is financed by a philanthropist David H. Koch who donated $35 million as a gift to the museum.

The team at the museum plan on digitally scanning every bone of the fossil and creating a virtual T.rex.

"It's the most famous dinosaur of all time, and yet we don't really know the details of the differences between the known skeletons," said Kirk Johnson, Sant director of the museum, in an interview with Smithsonian magazine. "So ideally what we'd like to do is scan all the known skeletons and get a good sense of the variation between them."

Discovered in 1988 on an island in Charles M.Russell National Wildlife Refuge Montana, the T.Rex fossil is named after the local rancher Kathy Wankel who discovered it. Since then it has been on display at the Museum in Bozeman.