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
The U.S. Embassy in Syria praises the civilized role of Syrians living in America Solidarity vigils with the families of the martyrs of Daraa throughout Syria Demonstration in Moadamiyet al Sham A vigil for the people of Khan Sheikhoun commemorating the 8th anniversary of the chemical massacre Al Sheibani :On the anniversary of the chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun (Idlib)we pledge to continu... Al Sheibani welcomes decision of Human Rights Council Civil delegations visit the city of Nawa to offer condolences to the martyrs families and community ... Turkey Warns Against Israeli Actions in Syria, Citing Risks to Regional Stability and Counterterrori... A protest in the city of Sweida condemning the Israeli attacks Minister al-Ali  discusses with Syrian doctors  in Germany ways to support the health sector Eid al-Fitr Initiative " a message of hope and love for children and families” The organization of Islamic Cooperation condemns the ongoing Israeli attacks on Syrian territory The health sector in Gaza is suffering a catastrophic situation Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry condemns Israeli attacks on Syria          Turkey holds Israel responsible for threatening regional security First phase of prisoner exchange deal between the government and the SDF completed Repeated Israeli raids on Syria receive wide condemnation Presidential Decree announcing the ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republ... United Nations condemns repeated Israeli escalation in Syria Emmanuel Macron:Trump's tariffs are a shock to international trade