Huge teeth, a lot of speed, merciless hunting – the image that the film industry in particular has drawn of the Tyrannosaurus rex is frightening. However, a new study now casts doubt – according to which the dinosaur species should have looked less dangerous than previously thought.
It was only recently revealed that the T-Rex, traveling at 1.28 meters per second (about 4.6 kilometers per hour), was not only slower than expected, but also slower than a human today.
Now the next scientific study scratches the picture of the monstrous-looking dinosaur. As researchers reported in the journal “Science,” he didn’t have a particularly toothy grin — he would have completely hidden the teeth, which are otherwise so large and sharp, when his mouth was closed. Like other theropod dinosaurs, it covered its teeth with thin, scaly lips. The face thus resembled that of today’s lizards or Komodo dragons.
Dagger teeth probably completely hidden
However, the new find does not come from fossil finds, in which fossilized lips were found, but from an analysis of the tooth surfaces of fossil dinosaur teeth. While it was previously believed that the teeth of Tyrannosaurus rex were more similar to those of today’s crocodiles, the analysis now performed did not show the typical signs of wear on the outside of the teeth. The scientists therefore assume that the dagger teeth were protected against drying out by body tissue and thus also by saliva secretion.
Contrary to recent belief, the huge teeth were certainly not too big to fit completely in the closed mouth, the researchers further explain. While a T-Rex had significantly larger teeth than a modern monitor lizard or lizard — even a hundred times that of the Australian dwarf monitor — its head was also correspondingly larger.
Bone analysis also supports the theory
In addition, the scientists discovered greater similarities in the structure of the dinosaur jaws compared to living reptiles with lips than to the lipless crocodiles. They found passageways in the bone that contained nerves and blood vessels to supply the tissues in the oral cavity.
Researchers have recently questioned the depiction of the dinosaur species: Tyrannosaurus rex would be more curved than previously thought. Evidence was also found that wild Velociraptors wore feathers.
Source: Krone
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