Why T-Rex Has Funny Little Arms
- 5 years ago
T. Rex’s Tiny Arms May Have Been Vicious Weapons - New findings suggest the dinosaur's arms were strong enough to slash prey at close quarters, despite being small for its body size. The precise purpose of T. rex’s relatively tiny arms has long been mysterious. Over the years, scientists have suggested that they might have been used to grasp struggling prey, to help resting dinosaurs push themselves up from the ground, or to grip tight to mates during sex.
Whatever their limited use, the consensus in recent years seemed to be that they were vestigial, hanging around as an evolutionary remnant from T. rex’s ancestors, a little like the wings of flightless birds. Perhaps, some scientists even suggested, small arms were a necessary trade-off in order to support such huge and powerful head and neck muscles.
But now one researcher argues that we’ve got it all wrong. Steven Stanley, a paleontologist at the University of Hawaii in Manoa, believes Tyrannosaurus’ arms were well-adapted for “vicious slashing” at close quarters, making use of four-inch-long claws to inflict deep wounds on unfortunate prey.
T. Rex Bite Go inside the studio and see the birth of a cover shot. See what National Geographic photographers had to do to capture the bone-exploding force of a T. rex bite.
“Its short, strong forelimbs and large claws would have permitted T. rex, whether mounted on a victim’s back or grasping it with its jaws, to inflict four gashes a meter [three feet] or more long and several centimeters [more than an inch] deep within a few seconds,” said Stanley. “And it could have repeated this multiple times in rapid succession.”
Since related dinosaurs also slashed their prey, “in light of its formidable weaponry, why should T. rex not have engaged in this activity?” asks Stanley, who presented his findings last week in Seattle at a meeting of the Geological Society of America. (Read about research suggesting that T. rex was not as fast a runner as previously thought.)
To make his case, the scientist points to T. rex’s strong arm bones, which would have made effective slashing tools, while an “unusual quasi-ball-and-socket joint” would have allowed the arms to move in several directions, ideal for slashing, he says.
What’s more, tyrannosaurs lost one of their three claws during the course of evolution, resulting in 50 percent more pressure being able to be applied by each of the two remaining claws—all the better for a powerful slash.
Slash or Sex?
Other experts are yet to be persuaded, however. “It seems illogical to me to use such small arms to slash with,” said Jakob Vinther, a paleobiologist from the University of Bristol in the U.K. who attended the presentation.
Music: Root Chakra Planet by Dhruva Aliman
https://dhruvaaliman.bandcamp.com/album/neptunes-overtone
http://www.dhruvaaliman.com/
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/5XiFCr9iBKE6Cupltgnlet
Whatever their limited use, the consensus in recent years seemed to be that they were vestigial, hanging around as an evolutionary remnant from T. rex’s ancestors, a little like the wings of flightless birds. Perhaps, some scientists even suggested, small arms were a necessary trade-off in order to support such huge and powerful head and neck muscles.
But now one researcher argues that we’ve got it all wrong. Steven Stanley, a paleontologist at the University of Hawaii in Manoa, believes Tyrannosaurus’ arms were well-adapted for “vicious slashing” at close quarters, making use of four-inch-long claws to inflict deep wounds on unfortunate prey.
T. Rex Bite Go inside the studio and see the birth of a cover shot. See what National Geographic photographers had to do to capture the bone-exploding force of a T. rex bite.
“Its short, strong forelimbs and large claws would have permitted T. rex, whether mounted on a victim’s back or grasping it with its jaws, to inflict four gashes a meter [three feet] or more long and several centimeters [more than an inch] deep within a few seconds,” said Stanley. “And it could have repeated this multiple times in rapid succession.”
Since related dinosaurs also slashed their prey, “in light of its formidable weaponry, why should T. rex not have engaged in this activity?” asks Stanley, who presented his findings last week in Seattle at a meeting of the Geological Society of America. (Read about research suggesting that T. rex was not as fast a runner as previously thought.)
To make his case, the scientist points to T. rex’s strong arm bones, which would have made effective slashing tools, while an “unusual quasi-ball-and-socket joint” would have allowed the arms to move in several directions, ideal for slashing, he says.
What’s more, tyrannosaurs lost one of their three claws during the course of evolution, resulting in 50 percent more pressure being able to be applied by each of the two remaining claws—all the better for a powerful slash.
Slash or Sex?
Other experts are yet to be persuaded, however. “It seems illogical to me to use such small arms to slash with,” said Jakob Vinther, a paleobiologist from the University of Bristol in the U.K. who attended the presentation.
Music: Root Chakra Planet by Dhruva Aliman
https://dhruvaaliman.bandcamp.com/album/neptunes-overtone
http://www.dhruvaaliman.com/
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/5XiFCr9iBKE6Cupltgnlet