MALI: Paleontologist Dr. Stephen Lautenschlager from the University of Bristol has conducted a very interesting study on the strength of Tyrannosaurus Rex’s jaw. From which, it has been found that the animal was having sustained muscle force to have a wide range of jaw angles.
The researchers said that the feeding style and dietary preferences of dinosaurs were having a close association with how wide they can open their jaws. Dr. Stephen has used digital models and computer analyses in the study to know about the muscle strain when they opened their jaw.
In the study, the assessment has been done of three different theropod dinosaurs having different dietary habits. It is the first study, which has looked into the relation between jaw musculature, feeding style and maximum jaw gap.
The three dinosaurs compared were T.rex, Allosaurus fragilis and Erlikosaurus andrewsi. It was found that the T.rex could open 63.5 inches and Allosaurus fragilis was having a maximum jaw gape of 79 inches and both of them were having gap angles of around 28 inches. The last dinosaur was having a maximum jaw gape of 43.5 inches.
As per the researchers, the study findings could help researchers to better understand about the muscle reconstruction. The study will help in the making new 3D models of the dinosaurs more accurately.
Dr Lautenschlager said, “We know from living animals that carnivores are usually capable of larger jaw gapes than herbivores, and it is interesting to see that this also appears to be the case in theropod dinosaurs”.
