T. rex settles into new home in US capital

 One of the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rexspecimens ever found moved into its new home in Washington on Tuesday.Dubbed "the nation's T. rex," the skeleton was discovered in 1988 by a Montana rancher, and becomes the first at the US capital's National Museum of NaturalHistory.Dating back about 66 million years, it arrived in Washington by Fed Ex deliverytruck after a journey of more than 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) across the UnitedStates.The skeleton arrived at the museum in multiple pieces, neatly arranged in wooden boxes. Between 80 and 85 percent of the skeleton was recovered during excavationfrom 1989 to 1990.It was then transferred to the Museum of the Rockies in Montana, before its latestjourney to the US capital."Tyrannosaurus rex is truly the king of dinosaurs," said Kirk Johnson, actingdirector at the Museum of Natural History."We could not be more excited to welcome the nation's T. rex to Washington, so itcan be enjoyed by our eight million visitors a year and serve as a gateway to thevast world of scientific discovery," Johnson said.The T. rex, on loan for 50 years from the US Army Corps of Engineers, had beenscheduled to arrive in Washington in October 2013, but those plans were canceledduring the federal government shutdown.Those hoping to see the T. rex will have to wait for the museum's new dinosaur andfossil hall, expected to open in 2019.