T. rex was even more fearsome than we thought! A “dinosaur king” had nerve sensors at the tips of his jaws that could recognize various parts of his prey and eat them differently depending on the situation, according to the study.
- Researchers at the Japanese University of Fukui Prefecture scanned a fossil jaw of T. rex
- From this they were able to reconstruct the blood vessels and nerves from within
- They found that the “tyrant lizard type” probably had a very sensitive mouth
- You may have been able to use your mouth to help build nests and take care of the young
Tyrannosaurus rex, often nicknamed the “king of dinosaurs,” had nerves in his jaw that would have allowed him to recognize various parts of the prey and eat them differently.
This is the conclusion of experts from Fukui Prefectural University, who scanned the fossilized lower jaw of a T. rex and reconstructed the nerve pattern inside it.
The fearsome reptiles may also have been clever enough with their mouths to use them to make nests, care for their young, and even communicate with each other.
Although the internal structure of the jaw has been previously studied in several fossil reptiles, this is the first study of its kind to focus on T. rex, according to the team.
Tyrannosaurus rex: the often nicknamed “king of the dinosaurs” had nerves in his jaw (shown in orange) that allowed him to recognize various parts of the prey and eat them differently
The fearsome reptiles (depicted in this artist’s print) may have been clever enough with their mouths to use them to make nests, care for their young, and even communicate.
WHAT WAS T. REX?
Rex tyrannosaurs were a species of meat-eating dinosaur, resembling a bird.
It lived between 68 and 66 million years ago in what is now western North America.
They could grow up to 12 meters long and 4 meters high.
To date, more than 50 fossilized specimens of T.Rex have been collected.
The monstrous animal had one of the strongest bites in the animal kingdom.
An artist’s impression of T.Rex
‘T. rex was an even more formidable predator than previously thought, “said Soichiro Kawabe, a paper author and dinosaur paleontologist at Fukui Prefectural University in Japan.
“Our findings show that the nerves in the jaw (an area of the jaw) of the Tyrannosaurus rex are distributed in a more complex way than those of any other dinosaur studied so far.”
In fact, he continued, it is “comparable to that of today’s crocodiles and birds that feed on touch, which have extremely sharp senses.
“What this means is that T. rex was sensitive to slight differences in material and movement. It indicates the possibility that he might recognize the different parts of his prey and eat them differently depending on the situation. ‘
“This completely changes our perception of T. rex as a dinosaur that was numb around his mouth, putting anything and everything to bite anything and everything, including bones.”
Dr. Kawabe and colleagues used computed tomography (CT) scans to reconstruct the “neurovascular canal” of blood vessels and nerves that ran through the fossil lower jaw of a T. rex unearthed from the Hell Creek rock formation in Montana.
They then compared its three-dimensional reconstruction with that of other dinosaurs, including the Triceratops, as well as the neurovascular channel of living bird and crocodile species.
The team found that T. rex neurovascular channels have a complex branching, especially in the front of the mouth.
“It is assumed that a similarly complex branching neurovascular canal would also be present in the upper jaw,” Dr. Kawabe said.
“The neurovascular canal, with a branching pattern as complex as that of existing crocodiles and ducks, suggests that the Tyrannosaurus’ trigeminal nervous system probably functioned as a sensitive sensor to the snout.”
According to the team, the channel they revealed in the T. rex fossil was similar to that of another therapy, the alosauride, suggesting that they could all have very sensitive faces.
Researchers at Fukui Prefectural University scanned the fossilized lower jaw of a Tyrannosaurus rex (pictured) and reconstructed the nerve pattern inside
“It should be noted that the sensitivity of the snout to the Tyrannosaurus may not have been as improved as that of the crocodilians, because the Tyrannosaurus lacks thick neuronal tissue.” [in] the neurovascular canal, unlike existing crocodiles, ‘said Dr Hattori.
“However, the sensitivity of the Tyrannosaurus snout was considerably higher than that of ornithischian dinosaurs compared in this study.”
(Ornithischian dinosaurs were those, such as the Triceratops, that had a pelvis similar to that of modern birds).
“These inferences also suggest that, in addition to predation, the jaw tips of tyrannosaurids were adapted to perform a range of movements with fine movements that included nest construction, parental care, and intraspecific communication,” he added. Dr. Hattori.
The full findings of the study were published in the journal Historical Biology.
Dr. Kawabe and colleagues used computed tomography (CT) scans to reconstruct the “neurovascular canal” of blood vessels and nerves that ran through the fossil lower jaw of a T. rex unearthed from the Hell Creek rock formation in Montana. . In the picture: the location of Hell Creek, with the name of the formation, which will emerge more widely
KILLING DINOSAURS: HOW A CITY-SIZED ASTEROID DELETED 75 PERCENT OF ALL ANIMAL AND PLANT SPECIES
About 66 million years ago, non-avian dinosaurs became extinct and more than half of the world’s species were destroyed.
This mass extinction paved the way for the rise of mammals and the appearance of humans.
The asteroid Chicxulub is often cited as a potential cause of Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction.
The asteroid crashed into a shallow sea in present-day Gulf of Mexico.
The collision released a huge cloud of dust and soot that triggered global climate change and wiped out 75% of all animal and plant species.
Researchers say the soot needed for this global catastrophe could only come from a direct impact on shallow-water rocks around Mexico, which are especially rich in hydrocarbons.
Ten hours after the impact, a massive tsunami set sail along the Gulf Coast, according to experts.
About 66 million years ago, non-avian dinosaurs became extinct and more than half of the world’s species were destroyed. The asteroid Chicxulub is often cited as a potential cause of Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction (stock image)
This caused earthquakes and landslides in areas as far as Argentina.
While investigating the event, investigators found small particles of rock and other debris that exploded in the air when the asteroid crashed.
These small particles called spherules covered the planet with a thick layer of soot.
Experts say that losing sunlight caused a complete collapse of the aquatic system.
This is because the phytoplankton base would have been removed from almost all aquatic food chains.
The more than 180 million years of evolution that brought the world to the point of the Cretaceous are believed to have been destroyed in less than the life of a Tyrannosaurus rex, which is about 20 to 30 years old.