What strength was in the jaws of a tyrannosaurus

Tyrannosaurs are considered the most ruthless and dangerous of the dinosaurs. And let, in addition to them, there were enough huge predators that terrified other inhabitants of the planet, it was the T-Rexes who were privileged to become symbols of carnivorous dinosaurs. But the creators of the film "Jurassic Park" it was no coincidence that the tyrannosaurus was chosen as the main danger for the heroes (not counting the nimble velociraptors): this big man had destructive jaws that could grind bones with the force equal to the weight of three small cars.

4 tons bite

According to a recent study, a prehistoric reptile could close its jaw with a force of almost 4 tons, which is more than twice the strength of the bite of the largest living crocodiles - the current champions in this "sport". In addition, each sharp tooth pressed on the victim with a force of about 30 tons per square centimeter.

Biting with such monstrous power, a tyrannosaurus could create cracks in the largest bones, which, due to internal pressure, simply exploded from the inside. This ability significantly expanded the menu of these monsters, which was not accessible to smaller carnivorous creatures: for example, bones of large armored dinosaurs, rich in mineral salts and bone marrow.

They asked the birds and crocodiles

To understand how tyrannosaurs managed to skillfully wield a huge jaw, scientists studied how the muscles of two seemingly unrelated species work: modern crocodiles and birds. In fact, the choice is quite logical, because crocodiles are close relatives of dinosaurs, and birds are their direct descendants. In general, based on the studies of both, it was possible to create a model of the work of the jaws of a tyrannosaurus.

During the study of crocodiles, researchers realized that powerful bites do not guarantee that their owner will easily crush any bone. In addition to the work of the muscles, it was important to understand how their power was distributed in the teeth, creating the same murderous pressure.

Today, spotted hyenas and gray wolves have this ability to grind bones. Of course, they do not have such powerful jaws as a tyrannosaurus. But they can very tightly close their teeth, redistributing the force of the bite on the incisors. The jaw of tyrannosaurs was arranged differently, and where mammals cunningly used the physical laws of weight redistribution, dinosaurs coped with brute physical force.

Source: Sciencedaily.com