Bite-force estimation for Tyrannosaurus rex from tooth-marked bones
Bite-force estimation for Tyrannosaurus rex from tooth-marked bones
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DOI：
10.1038/382706a0
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发表时间：
1996-08-22
期刊：
影响因子：
64.8
通讯作者：
Carter, DR
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Erickson, GM;VanKirk, SD;Carter, DR
关于恐龙是以捕食为生还是以食腐为生的争论已经持续了近世纪（1-5）。古生物学家已经转向牙齿形态学的研究来解决这个问题，但结果却大相径庭。有些人认为，恐龙的齿系非常坚固，非常适合与食草恐龙交战并杀死它们（6，7）。其他人则认为恐龙吃腐肉，因为它们的牙齿和/或下颚在与猎物搏斗时会失效（2，3）。发现了带有霸王雷克斯咬痕的骨骼遗骸（8），这使得通过在牛伊利亚上进行压痕模拟来估计霸王龙产生的咬合力成为可能。雷克斯在进食过程中。估计值（6，410至13，400 N）与迄今为止确定的任何分类群的最大咬合力相媲美，并表明T。雷克斯有非常强大的，抗冲击的牙齿，虽然这些数据并不能证明T，雷克斯是主要的捕食，他们表明，它的牙齿可能可以承受与猎物捕获有关的压力。
WHETHER tyrannosaurs occupied predatory or scavenging niches has been debated for nearly a century(1-5). Palaeontologists have turned to the study of dental morphology to address this question, but the results have been highly disparate. Some contend that the tyrannosaur dentition was very strong and well suited for engaging and killing herbivorous dinosaurs(6,7). Others posit that tyrannosaurs ate carrion, because their teeth and/or jaws would fail during struggles with prey(2,3). The discovery of skeletal remains with bite marks from Tyrannosaurus rex(8) makes it possible to estimate, through indentation simulations on bovine ilia, the bite forces produced by T. rex during feeding. The estimates (6,410 to 13,400 N) rival the largest bite forces determined for any taxon to date and suggest that T. rex had very strong, impact-resistant teeth, Although these data do not prove that T, rex was predominantly predacious, they indicate that its dentition could probably withstand the stresses associated with prey capture.