They prove that a young Tyrannosaurus Rex could bite …

An investigation by the University of California concluded that a young specimen of King Tiranosaurus had a biting power similar to that of a alligator modern. This power was only one sixth of the strength of an adult specimen of this species of dinosaur.

The study, led by Jack Tseng and Joseph Peterson, was based on the recent discovery of fossilized dinosaur bones bearing teeth marks from a young Tyrannosaurus Rex. The experts decided to reproduce the bite marks and measure the force with which this species could bite.

Last year, Tseng and Peterson made a metal replica of a 13-year-old tyrannosaur-shaped tooth, mounted it in a mechanical test frame commonly used in engineering and materials science, and tried out to break a cow’s leg with a replica. .

Following this line, they made 17 attempts which were successful in matching the depth and shape of the bite marks on the fossils. In this way, they determined that a young tyrannosaurus could have exerted up to 5,641 newtons of force, which can be compared to the power of the jaw of a hyena or a crocodile.

The results also compared this force with the bite of an adult Tyrannosaurus Rex, which is about 35,000 newtons, and that of humans, which is on average 300 newtons.

Specialists in turn clarified that these estimates of the bite force of young Tyrannosaurs, based on rebuilding the jaw muscles or mathematically reducing the bite force of adult Tyrannosaurs, were considerably lower: around 4,000 newtons.

Bite force measurements can help paleontologists understand the ecosystem the dinosaurs lived in, or any extinct animals, which predators were powerful enough to eat which prey, and which other predators they competed with.

“If you have up to nearly 6,000 newtons of bite force, that puts you in a slightly different weight class,” Tseng, assistant professor of integrative biology at the University of California, said in a statement.

“By really refining our estimates of the bite force of the young Tyrannosaurus Rex, we can place them more succinctly in part of the food web and think about how they may have played the role of a different type of predator than their adult parents. ”he added.

Research also found that while young Tyrannosaur Rex couldn’t yet crush bones like their 30- or 40-year-old parents, they were developing their biting techniques and strengthening their jaw muscles so that they could do so once their adult teeth have entered. .