• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Wednesday, September 10, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Chemistry

T. rex used a stiff skull to eat its prey

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
September 25, 2019
in Chemistry
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
IMAGE
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

MU scientists created one of the first 3D models showing how ligaments and joints in the skull of a Tyrannosaurus rex work

IMAGE

Credit: Illustration courtesy of Brian Engh.

A Tyrannosaurus rex could bite hard enough to shatter the bones of its prey. But how it accomplished this feat without breaking its own skull bones has baffled paleontologists. That’s why scientists at the University of Missouri are arguing that the T. rex’s skull was stiff much like the skulls of hyenas and crocodiles, and not flexible like snakes and birds as paleontologists previously thought.

“The T. rex had a skull that’s 6 feet long, 5 feet wide and 4 feet high, and bites with the force of about 6 tons,” said Kaleb Sellers, a graduate student in the MU School of Medicine. “Previous researchers looked at this from a bone-only perspective without taking into account all of the connections — ligaments and cartilage — that really mediate the interactions between the bones.”

Using a combination of imaging, anatomy and engineering analysis, the team observed how the roof of the mouth of the T. rex reacted to the stresses and strains from chewing by applying models of how two present day relatives of T. rex — a gecko and a parrot — chew to how the T. rex skull worked.

“Dinosaurs are like modern-day birds, crocodiles and lizards in that they inherited particular joints in their skulls from fish — ball and socket joints, much like people’s hip joints — that seem to lend themselves, but not always, to movement like in snakes,” said Casey Holliday, an associate professor of anatomy in the MU School of Medicine. “When you put a lot of force on things, there’s a tradeoff between movement and stability. Birds and lizards have more movement but less stability. When we applied their individual movements to the T. rex skull, we saw it did not like being wiggled in ways that the lizard and bird skulls do, which suggests more stiffness.”

In addition to helping paleontologists with a detailed study of the anatomy of fossilized animals, researchers believe their findings can help advance human and animal medicine by providing better models of how joints and ligaments interact.

“In humans, this can also be applied to how people’s jaws work, such as studying how the jaw joint is loaded by stresses and strains during chewing,” said Ian Cost, the lead researcher on the study. Cost is an assistant professor at Albright College and a former doctoral student in the MU School of Medicine. “In animals, understanding how those movements occur and joints are loaded will, for instance, help veterinarians better understand how to treat exotic animals such as parrots, which suffer from arthritis in their faces.”

###

The study, “Palatal biomechanics and its significance for cranial kinesis in Tyrannosaurus rex,” was published in The Anatomical Record. Other authors include Kevin Middleton of the MU School of Medicine; M. Scott Echols of The Medical Center for Birds; Lawrence Witmer of Ohio University; and Julian Davis of University of Southern Indiana. Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation, Jurassic Foundation, Missouri Research Council, Missouri Research Board and MU Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.

Media Contact
Eric Stann
[email protected]

Original Source

https://news.missouri.edu/2019/t-rex-used-a-stiff-skull-to-eat-its-prey/

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ar.24219

Tags: Biomechanics/BiophysicsBiomedical/Environmental/Chemical EngineeringComputer ScienceEarth ScienceMusculatureOrthopedic MedicinePaleontologyPhysiologyZoology/Veterinary Science
Share18Tweet11Share3ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Oxford AI Tool Revolutionizes Supernova Discovery Amidst Cosmic Noise

Oxford AI Tool Revolutionizes Supernova Discovery Amidst Cosmic Noise

September 10, 2025
Innovative Methods for Generating Methanol Using Electricity and Biomass

Innovative Methods for Generating Methanol Using Electricity and Biomass

September 9, 2025

Isotope Tafel Analysis Reveals Proton Transfer Kinetics

September 9, 2025

Gemini South Uncovers Elusive Cloud-Forming Chemical on Ancient Brown Dwarf

September 9, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Breakthrough in Computer Hardware Advances Solves Complex Optimization Challenges

    151 shares
    Share 60 Tweet 38
  • New Drug Formulation Transforms Intravenous Treatments into Rapid Injections

    116 shares
    Share 46 Tweet 29
  • Physicists Develop Visible Time Crystal for the First Time

    52 shares
    Share 21 Tweet 13
  • First Confirmed Human Mpox Clade Ib Case China

    56 shares
    Share 22 Tweet 14

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Critically Endangered Shark Meat Frequently Sold Under False Labels in US, Study Finds

Misconceptions Prevent Certain Cancer Patients from Accessing Hormone Therapy Benefits

New ECU Study Reveals Muscle Loss in Children During Early Cancer Treatment: A Hidden Threat to Recovery

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.