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Paleontologists analyzed the morphology of the neurovascular channel in the well-preserved jaw of Tyrannosaurus Rex using computed tomography techniques. Their results show that the dinosaur’s neurovascular channel had quite a complex branching among dinosaurs, and its complexity was comparable to that of living crocodiles and tactile foraging birds.
Tyrannosaurus Rex. Image credit: Amanda Kelley.
“Tyrannosaurus Rex was an even more formidable predator than previously believed, ”said Dr Soichiro Kawabe, a paleontologist at the Dinosaur Research Institute at Fukui Prefectural University.
“Our results show that the nerves of the mandible Tyrannosaurus Rex is more complexly distributed than those of any other dinosaur studied to date, and comparable to modern crocodiles and tactile foraging birds, which have extremely keen senses.
“What this means is that Tyrannosaurus Rex was sensitive to slight differences in material and movement, ”he added.
“This indicates the possibility that he may have recognized different parts of their prey and eat them differently depending on the situation.”
“It completely changes our perception of Tyrannosaurus Rex like a dinosaur that was callous around its mouth, putting anything and everything while biting anything and everything, including bones.
The dental neurovascular canal of Tyrannosaurus Rex. Image credit: Kawabe & Hattori, doi: 10.1080 / 08912963.2021.1965137.
Using CT scans, Dr Kawabeto and Dr Soki Hattori, also from the Dinosaur Research Institute of Fukui Prefectural University, analyzed the neurovascular channel in a fossil lower jaw of Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The specimen was originally collected from the Hell Creek Formation in Montana, USA.
Paleontologists then compared their reconstruction to other dinosaurs such as Triceratops, as well as crocodiles and live birds.
“Our study reveals the presence of neurovascular channels with complex ramifications in the lower jaw of Tyrannosaurus Rex, especially in the anterior region of the tooth, and it is speculated that an equally complex branched neurovascular channel would also be present in his upper jaw, ”said Dr Kawabe.
“The neurovascular channel with a branching pattern as complex as that of extant crocodilians and ducks, suggests that the trigeminal nervous system in Tyrannosaurus Rex probably worked as a sensitive sensor in the muzzle.
“It should be noted that the sensitivity of the muzzle in Tyrannosaurus Rex may not have been as improved as that of the crocodilians because Tyrannosaurus Rex does not have the thick neural tissue occupying the neurovascular channel unlike existing crocodiles.
“Nevertheless, the sensitivity of the muzzle of Tyrannosaurus Rex was considerably larger than that of the Ornithischian dinosaurs compared in this study.
The new results are consistent with analyzes of the skull surface of another tyrannosaurid dinosaur, Daspletosaurus, and the allosaurid dinosaur Neovenator, indicating that the facial area of all theropod dinosaurs may have been very sensitive.
“These inferences also suggest that in addition to predation, the jaw tips of tyrannosaurids were adapted to perform a series of behaviors with fine movements, including nest building, parental care and intraspecific communication,” said the Dr Hattori.
The results were published in the journal Historical biology.
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Soichiro Kawabe & Soki Hattori. Complex neurovascular system in the dental Tyrannosaurus. Historical biology, published online August 22, 2021; doi: 10.1080 / 08912963.2021.1965137
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