ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Researchers have identified a new subspecies of tyrannosaur thought to be an older and more primitive relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex
Tyrannosaur Teens Didn’t Have the Bone-Crushing Bite of Adults
Image: Mary Altaffer (AP)
Adult tyrannosaurs were basically bone crushing machines on two feet. New research suggests juvenile tyrannosaurs couldn’t match the same level of brutality, resulting in a distinctive bite that set them apart from their adult counterparts.
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Nothing like tyrannosaurs exist today, and thank goodness for that. As the quintessential apex predator of the Mesozoic, these megatheropods featured bite forces that boggle the imagination. The modern lion exerts a respectable 1,300 Newtons of force when chomping down on prey , but
T. rex with its wide and deeply set jaw exerted a whopping 60,000 Newtons of force with each horrific bite.