Without good samples, researchers don't know that much about what T. rex skin was like. Advertisement "There are a handful of [tyrannosaurid skin] impressions, but that doesn't let us know what ...

Holtz added that paleontologists have only found T. rex collagen in bone, not skin, which is the basis for leather, and that researchers don’t have access to good tyrannosaurid skin samples ...

From this reconstruction of ancient protein sequences, the result is T. rex leather, which is structurally identical to T. rex skin. “A biomaterial inspired by prehistoric biology,” Mitchell said.

Moreover, in order to produce genuine T. rex skin (the first step in the leather production process), you would need more than just collagen, you’d need actual T. rex DNA.

Another biotech company, the U.K.-based Lab-Grown Leather Ltd., will then use those specialized cells to produce skin, made with the T-Rex collagen protein, which is then tanned to form T-Rex leather.

A group of researchers and bio-engineers in the U.K. say they’re working to produce high-end clutches and totes with T. rex skin grown from fossilized remains.

Whether or not the researchers take this approach, they plan to insert the collagen-building DNA into cells, which will—supposedly—turn into T. rex skin, according to the Lab-Grown Leather ...

When it roamed the Earth 80 million years ago, a 40-foot-long Tyrannosaurus rex was one of nature's most terrifying prospects. Soon, it could be a purse.

This species is smaller than its more famous relative, the T-rex. An adult could reach 9 meters (30 feet) in length – about three-quarters the size of a full-size T-rex .