Dino Bite

Capable of crunching lesser dinosaurs to bits, this Tyrannosaurus rex skull is giving palaeontologists something to chew over – how did it generate such a powerful bite without its own jaw bones shattering? It turns out, rather than its bones sliding and twisting similar to birds’ skulls – this is known as cranial kinesis – T-Rex jaws had a stiff structure, similar to crocodiles and humans. This computer model predicts how the muscles and ligaments might have flexed around a rigid skull – with areas of high strain highlighted in warm colours, and low strain in cool colours. A stiff jaw may have produced lower strain for the T-Rex – protecting its bath-tub-sized skull from injury. Similar approaches might investigate stresses in the bones and muscles in human jaws, eventually helping to treat issues arising from arthritis or temporomandibular joint dysfunction.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image from the University of Missouri
• Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
• Image copyright held by the original authors
• Research published in The Anatomical Journal, July 2019