Motor mouth: T. rex could bite with the force of three cars

Scientists have come up with one more reason to be amazed by Tyrannosaurus rex. When the huge carnivorous dinosaur took a bite, it did so with an awe-inspiring force equal to the weight of three small cars, enabling it to crunch bones with ease.
Researchers said a computer model based on the T. rex jaw muscle anatomy and analyses of living relatives like crocodilians and birds showed its bite force measured about 8,000 pounds (3,630 kg), the strongest of any dinosaur ever estimated.
In quantifying the power of T. rex’s chomp, they also calculated how it transmitted its bite force through its conical, seven-inch (18-cm) teeth, finding it generated 431,000 pounds per square inch (30,300 kg per square cm) of tooth pressure, another measure of its power, on the contact area of the teeth.

Bite marks on fossilized bones of dinosaurs like the horned Triceratops that lived alongside Tyrannosaurus some 66 million years ago in western North America indicated T. rex was a bone-cruncher. The ability to pulverize and eat bones gave T. rex, which was about 43 feet (13 meters) long and weighed about seven tons, an advantage over competing predators that could not.
“Predators with bone-crunching abilities are able to exploit a high-risk, high-reward resource: the minerals that make up bone itself and the fatty marrow that is contained inside,” said paleontologist Paul Gignac of the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, lead author of the study published in the journal Scientific Reports.
“The risk is the potential to accrue extreme tooth damage from biting into bone, making it difficult or impossible to capture prey effectively or rupture the long bones of carcasses.”
Previous studies have estimated Tyrannosaurus bite strength but the researchers in the new study called their approach more sophisticated.

H.Z

 

You might also like
Latest news
Arab League: Engaging with America to End Israeli Attacks on Syria Turkey: Israeli attacks on Syria are a flagrant violation of its sovereignty and a threat to regiona... Britain at the UN Security Council: We are committed to supporting a comprehensive and prosperous fu... The dignitaries, sheikhs, and intellectuals of the city of Bosra al-Sham issued a statement confirmi... Syrian-Dutch talks on humanitarian support President al-Sharaa extends the mandate of the fact-finding and investigation committee regarding Sy... President Ahmad al-Sharaa meets with members of the fact-finding committee, tasked with investigatin... Lebanese Foreign Minister: Lifting sanctions imposed on Syria will encourage the displaced to return Al-Shibani: Signing agreement with South Korea opens new horizons for cooperation in economy, techno... Minister of Social Affairs, French envoy discuss supporting recovery and economic empowerment effort... UN: Israeli attacks on Syrian territory are unacceptable Turkey's representative to the United Nations: The new Syrian administration is doing a good job and... Arab Group at the Security Council calls for stopping the repeated Israeli attacks on Syria Syria's Representative at Security Council calls on international community to support Syria's stabi... President al-Sharaa receives South Korean delegation led by Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul US representative at the Security Council: "we must agree that a stable and sovereign Syria is impor... Syria, South Korea sign agreement on establishing diplomatic ties Algeria's UN envoy expresses concern over Israeli escalation in Syria Ministry of Economy and Industry Discuss Challenges Facing the Syrian Industry Rehabilitation of Rastan Bridge discussed