A T. rex Bite Could Make Its Victims Explode

New research confirms the overwhelming force of T. rex jaws depicted in Hollywood movies. It seems that Tyrannosaurus rex took down its victims with a terrible bite exerting almost 8,000 pounds of pressure upon them. The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Its bite exerted huge pressure

Researchers confirmed that Tyrannosaurus rex had a deadly bite which could smash the bones of its prey and made it impossible for them to escape. In fact, the force of its jaws was quite unimaginable, as the victims could literally burst into pieces after being bitten.

The jaws fashioned with sharp teeth were able to grasp and produce a pressure of 431,000 pounds per square inch on the bones. Such a pressure is higher than most of today’s hydraulic presses can produce. Therefore, the Hollywood depictions of T. rex prey exploding were not far-fetched.

Its force allowed it to feast on dinosaurs with strong bones

These special teeth and forceful jaws allowed the predator to feast on much larger dinosaurs with tough skin and strong bones. For instance, dinosaurs with large horns or with bones full of minerals and marrow were inaccessible for smaller species, as they could not bite through them. Therefore, T. rex owned the supremacy among them, as it could devour even the toughest bodies.

To identify the force of a Tyrannosaurus bite, researchers analyzed its living ancestors, crocodiles and birds, and performed tests on them. Then, they were able to produce an accurate model of a T. rex bite. Crocodiles are worthy descendants of the predators, as they currently exert the most powerful bites. Even so, their ancestor could bite with double the force of the fiercest crocodile.

The study is the first to look at the mechanics of a Tyrannosaurus rex bite. It also explains the dinosaur’s choice of prey, as well as highlight the reason why it has always been regarded as the king of predators.
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