Paleontologists Have Finally Calculated the Bite Force of Tyrannosaurus Rex
science·@herpetologyguy·
0.000 HBDPaleontologists Have Finally Calculated the Bite Force of Tyrannosaurus Rex
<html> <p>I don't think there is anyone out there who isn't a least passingly familiar with the great tyrant lizard king, <em>Tyrannosaurus rex</em>. An easily recognizable figure in modern pop-culture, the <em>T. rex</em> has fascinated us since it's discovery in 1902. Since it was discovered, more than 50 other fossils have been found, giving us a clearer picture how the prehistoric monster moved, ate and lived. A 40 foot long bipedal carnivore of the Cretaceous, the <em>T. rex</em> was one one of the largest carnivores to ever walk the earth; it carried an absolutely massive skull (balanced out by its long, heavy tail) which many paleontologists theorized was capable of exerting the largest bite force among all terrestrial animals. But just how powerful were the jaws of the giant lizard king?</p> <p>http://orig03.deviantart.net/f652/f/2014/331/5/7/jurassic_world__tyrannosaurus_rex_by_sonichedgehog2-d87wp3n.png</p> <p> Gregory Erickson (Florida State University Professor of Biological Science) and Paul Gignac (assistant professor of Anatomy and Vertebrate Paleontology at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences) came up with a reasonable model to calculate what was believed to be the most powerful bite the world has known (on land at least). They closely studied the musculature of living crocodiles to determine exactly how these muscles contribute to the reptiles' bite force (after all, dinosaurs were a sub-group of reptiles). The results from these crocodile tests were compared to birds, our own modern day dinosaurs, to determine the bite force of the <em>T. rex</em>. </p> <p>http://news.nationalgeographic.com/content/dam/news/photos/000/500/50088.jpg</p> <p>What Erickson and Gignac found was that the <em>T. rex </em>bit down with approximately 8,000 pounds of force...that's equal to roughly the weight of three small cars! This is more than twice the force exerted by today's crocodiles, who boast the strongest bite force existing today. But it isn't the bite force that has the scientists amazed; the tooth pressures really demonstrate the <em>T. rex</em>'s terrifying potential.</p> <blockquote> "Having high bite force doesn't necessarily mean an animal can puncture hide or pulverize bone, tooth pressure is the biomechanically more relevant parameter. It is like assuming a 600 horsepower engine guarantees speed. In a Ferrari, sure, but not for a dump truck." -Erickson <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170517090520.htm">Source</a></blockquote> <p>So what is tooth pressure? Well, we know <em>T. rex</em>'s jaws were capable of delivering 8,000 pounds of force with each bite. But when it closes its jaws on its prey, this force isn't delivered evenly across the jaw. That force is exerted through the <em>T. rex</em>'s sharp, conical teeth. In other worlds, that 8,000 pound bite force is applied only at tiny points, so each tooth exerts an immense pressure. These teeth were capable of generating up to 431,000 pounds per square inch of tooth pressures! That's 215 TONS per square inch!</p> <p>http://www.aaskolnick.com/fieldmuseum/sue/trex.teeth.jpg</p> <p>So why did <em>T. rex </em>need such a powerful bite force? Certainly that kind of strength is overkill right? Yes, when it comes to killing its prey, the bite force exerted by its jaws is far more than enough to be lethal. However, the immense pressure allowed <em>T. rex </em>to completely destroy bones; we call this extreme osteophagy and we really only see it with carnivorous mammals like hyenas and wolves. Today's reptiles are incapable of chewing up bones. By repeatedly biting, <em>T. rex</em> could drive open cracks in bone and "produce high-pressure fracture arcades, leading to a catastrophic explosion of some bones" (<a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170517090520.htm">source</a>). </p> <blockquote> "It was this bone-crunching acumen that helped <em>T. rex</em> to more fully exploit the carcasses of large horned-dinosaurs and duck-billed hadrosaurids whose bones, rich in mineral salts and marrow, were unavailable to smaller, less equipped carnivorous dinosaurs." -Gignac <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170517090520.htm">Source</a></blockquote> <p>http://www.aaskolnick.com/fieldmuseum/sue/trex77k.jpg</p> <p>The ability to split bones in this manner has not been seen in reptiles since. Even today's mammalian predators require unique dentition to full exploit bones in the same manner the <em>T. rex</em> did. What makes <em>T. rex</em> so extraordinary is that it was able to achieve this mammal ability without having specialized dentition! Thanks to this ability, when <em>T. rex</em> made a kill, it was able to feed on just about the entire organism!</p> <p>Image Links: <a href="http://www.deviantart.com/tag/tyrannosaurusrex">1</a>, <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/03/120315-crocodiles-bite-force-erickson-science-plos-one-strongest/">2</a>, <a href="http://www.aaskolnick.com/fieldmuseum/sue/sue.htm">3</a>, <a href="http://www.aaskolnick.com/fieldmuseum/sue/sue.htm">4</a></p> <p>Article Link: <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170517090520.htm">https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170517090520.htm</a></p> <p> https://s25.postimg.org/c7beiusov/herpetologyguy.png </p> </html>
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