The chicken and the ostrich are the closest living relatives of the Tyrannosaurus rex.
While we used to think that dinosaurs were giant lizard-like creatures that roamed the earth, it's now widely accepted that dinosaurs have more in common with present-day birds than they do with oversized reptiles. Research out of Harvard University in 2008 confirmed that the Tyrannosaurus rex shared more of its genetic makeup with ostriches and chickens than with alligators and crocodiles.
