Tyrannosaurus rex looked completely different from how we imagined it

Tirex is one of the most famous and largest predatorydinosaurs. He had a memorable appearance due to his intimidating, ferocious appearance. In dinosaur movies, he is always shown growling, with huge teeth that the dinosaur could not hide due to its lack of lips, like modern crocodiles. But was he really like that? According to a recent study, our understanding of the Tyrannosaurus rex is wrong. Scientists came to the conclusion that the teeth were still hidden behind the lips, which closed with each other. I must say that the assumption that the animal had lips has been circulating for a long time, but now there is confirmation of this, however, it is still indirect.

Tyrannosaurus rex didn't look quite like we imagined - its huge teeth were hidden by its lips

Tirex dinosaur had lips

Paleontologists have long debated whetherwhat was the muzzle of a Tyrannosaurus rex - like crocodiles without lips or like monitor lizards and iguanas that cover their lips with thin scaly lips. The fossils found to date unfortunately cannot answer this question. Soft tissues, including skin, are much worse preserved than bones. Therefore, finding a dinosaur head with skin has not yet been possible.

By those fragments of skin that have survived,we can say that the dinosaur was more scaly than feathered. But this is not accurate either. I must say that scientists cannot even decide on the size of this creature. One recent study showed that the T-rex could be 70% larger than we think.

Tyrannosaurus rex was previously thought to have no lips.

Therefore, in order to answer the question aboutlips of an ancient animal, scientists conducted a thorough study of its tooth. True, the tooth did not belong to a tyrannosaurus rex, but to its closest relative, Daspletosaurus, which was slightly smaller. But other than that, they weren't much different.

It should be noted that the teeth of dinosaurs are constantlyupdated - old ones fell out, and new ones grew. Therefore, scientists used a mature tooth, which was about 500 days old, for the study. They also studied the teeth of ancient crocodiles and modern alligators. As a result, they came to the conclusion that by the degree of wear of the teeth it is possible to determine whether they were covered with lips.

As the study showed, the tooth of a Tyrannosaurus rex was“intact,” meaning the enamel was undamaged, which the researchers believe suggests that the dinosaur’s teeth were covered by lips. Crocodiles, on the other hand, had damage on their teeth that they received in fights, during feeding, etc.

Then the scientists decided to find out if they could evensuch dinosaurs as tyrannosaurus be lips. It was previously thought that dinosaur teeth were too large to be parted lips. The researchers compared the height of the crown of the tooth (the upper part located above the gum) with the long jaw. Then they correlated these proportions with the proportions of modern reptiles that have lips - monitor lizards and iguanas.

Reconstruction of a dinosaur head with lips

It should be noted that both of these animals have teethvery large relative to the size of the skull. As it turned out, the proportions were almost the same. That is, the anatomy of tyrannosaurs was much closer to reptiles with lips than lipless ones such as crocodiles. In addition, the dinosaur's teeth themselves were strikingly similar to the teeth of a monitor lizard. The researchers report this in the journal Science.

Why did the Tirex need lips?

Lips saved teeth, researchers saymoistened and protected them from damage, which allowed dinosaurs to crack down on large and strong bones. That is, the preservation of teeth for tyrannosaurs could be a matter of survival. Therefore, evolution provided them with protection.

Most likely, the lips of tyrannosaurs were enoughthin and had no muscles. Therefore, they could not somehow control them as mammals do. Dinosaur lips simply hung down, but that was enough to provide a protective function.

Not all scientists agree that Tyrannosaurus rex had lips

However, not all scientists agree with the results.this study. For example, Thomas Carr, an assistant professor at Carthage College in Wisconsin, claims that the marks on tyrannosaurus rex skulls, which are imprinted on the bones from skin scales, are identical to those on crocodile skulls - they do not extend beyond the jaw line. This may indicate that the dinosaur was still lipless.

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Obviously, the controversy will not end untilfind evidence in the form of fossils. But, in any case, our understanding of dinosaurs is gradually changing. For example, more recently, scientists have found that they did not roar as shown in films, but made much more melodic sounds like birds. In addition, it turned out that dinosaurs often had bright plumage, which also contradicts our ideas about dinosaurs.