It was credibly the most fearsome battle to ever take plaza in the animal kingdom : The A-one - apex marauder Tyrannosaurus versus the heavily armored Triceratops . base on the fossil records , paleontologists have known for quite some clip that the two Cretaceous - geological era dinosaurs often went head - to - brain . But given the triceratops ’ all-inclusive United States Department of Defense , it has never been clear how the T - rex was able to diffuse through the thick shielding when it total time for the spread . But new inquiry has revealed how it was done — and it was n’t pretty .
Step # 1 : Grab hold of the frill : According to work present last calendar week at theSociety of Vertebrate Paleontology‘s annual meeting in Raleigh , North Carolina , the tonne - rex , upon killing the triceratops , work to position itself such that it could take hold of the folderal with its monumental jaws .
Step # 2 : displume the back of the cervix : Once the T - rex could grab hold , it pull the mind back , thus create tension and a subsequent tear in the flesh . The researcher , a squad pass byDenver Fowlerat the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman , Montana , were able-bodied to make this purpose by study the bite marks found on the fossilized remains of 18 triceratops . Fowler believes that the T - rex ’s laterally thickened tooth body structure made it well suited for resisting lateral stressess — a machine characteristic that would have substantially improve its power to dismember carcasses .

Step # 3 : Rip the head off : When study the fossils , particularly the skulls , Fowler observe that many of the castanets showed no house of healing . This suggested that the bite marks were made after demise and during the meal itself ( what palaeontologist refer to as post-mortem examination carcase processing ) . And in addition , many of the specimens featured puncture , score , gouge , and puncture - pull marks , which in combination with tooth - space pattern , indicated that the marks were inflicted during the banquet .
mistreat # 4 : Time to eat : The paleontologists theorize that the T - rex worked severely to get the head off so that it could get to the nutrient rich neck muscle . Fowler says this is consistent with deep parallel dent mark found on the skull , including perforated cranium . And interestingly , the fossilist were also able to determine that the T - rex like to erode the flesh off the triceratops ’ side .
It ’s worth noting that some paleontologists argufy the predator / prey family relationship between the two species . One theory is that the T - rex but scavenged on the remains of all in triceratops , and that the elaborate armor and hooter were simply ornamental / courtship displays . It ’s also possible that the horns were used in armed combat with each other and not against T - rexes . And indeed , there is grounds that the car horn were used in combat(and were not just ornaments ) — it ’s just not vindicated who the saddle horn were used against . But regardless , there ’s small dubiousness that the T - rex ate the remains of triceratops .

You cancheck out the studyat Fowler ’s homepage .
Top imagevia . All inset illustrations via Nate Carroll . H / tNature .
dinosaursPaleontologyScienceTyrannosaurus Rex

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