Wednesday, January 17, 2024

What Made New Mexico So Hospitable to Slim-Jawed T-Rex?

This article made me smile:
“The lower jaw in a Tyrannosaurus rex is actually quite robust. Our jaw is obviously big and toothy, but it’s more slender than what we normally see in a Tyrannosaurus rex,” said Anthony R. Fiorillo, coauthor of the study published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports. The robust jaw of T. rex meant it “could do whatever it wanted. A more slender jaw, even with the big teeth, means that it would have less bite force.”
...The research team will now return to the rock formation where the specimen was unearthed to see whether they can find more bones. 
“Then, because it’s so big, we need to actually shift some of our investigation to try to understand the paleoecology and environment in which this animal lived so we can begin to understand what was it about New Mexico that was so special that this animal’s adaptation to life was to get big,” Fiorillo said.

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