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This article comes from the official account of Wechat: SF Chinese (ID:kexuejiaodian), author: SF

In the eyes of many people, Tyrannosaurus Rex should be the most powerful hunter in the age of dinosaurs and a symbol of power. In particular, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, from its Latin name Tyrannosaurus rex, we can see that rex means monarch in Latin. Therefore, Tyrannosaurus Rex is also called Tyrannosaurus Rex, that is to say, it was the monarch of the dinosaur era. However, some recent studies have found that Tyrannosaurus Rex may not be as powerful as we think, or even a coward.

(Noa Leach / tr. by Phil Newell)

Translation | Kathy

Editor | Zhao Jiaming

Partly adapted from the 2023.09 issue of Science focus

Now, the movie "Giant Tooth Shark 2" is a hit. In the movie, the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex appears on a beach. The ancient animals that had just been active on the beach fled without a trace. However, an incredible scene appeared: a huge giant-toothed shark rushed to the beach with a big mouth and bit off the neck of the Tyrannosaurus Rex. The overlord of the dinosaur era seemed defenseless.

Tyrannosaurus Rex may have been a coward in the documentary "prehistoric Planet 2", there is a similar scene. On a beach in North America more than 66 million years ago, with the arrival of the pterosaur, the Tyrannosaurus Rex left the body of a giant sauropod dinosaur and escaped. This is a favorite scene of British paleontologist Darren Naish. Nash, the documentary's chief scientific adviser, explained the scientific mysteries to Science focus.

"of course, almost everyone thinks that Tyrannosaurus Rex is a top predator. They are an unstoppable killing machine, with powerful jaws that can bite everything else in half," Nash said. "but predators don't do that."

"Predators try to do things that reduce the risk of injury and death. In this way, they can be very conservative, even cowards, because it's not worth stabbing the eye for a bite." Nash added.

Why is Tyrannosaurus Rex such a pussy? Perhaps, some friends will ask: "Why is Tyrannosaurus Rex such a pussy when two powerful top predators compete for the same prey?" Answers to these questions can be found in Nash's latest research.

To answer this question, let's first take a look at the appearance of the pterosaur. According to a study published in 2008, pterosaurs have narrow bodies and 9-meter-long foldable wings on their torso, making them powerful and flying land predators.

In a 2015 study, scientists studied what this size means when pterosaurs compete with other large predators for prey. For example, how this shape affected Tyrannosaurus Rex when they met on the beach as described earlier.

"they each have their strengths and weaknesses," Nash said. "but we think that in the face of such a tall competitor like Tyrannosaurus Rex, Tyrannosaurus Rex will think twice. After all, the size of the other side does not stand a good chance of winning for Tyrannosaurus Rex."

Tyrannosaurus Rex is not as strong as we thought, so we can see that Tyrannosaurus Rex is very cautious and will consider the "input-output ratio" in the face of strong enemies. So it can be said that Tyrannosaurus Rex is not as powerful as we thought.

Tyrannosaurus Rex group hunting? In 2014, scientists unearthed a group of strange fossilized Tyrannosaurus Rex remains at the Escalante National Monument in Utah, proving that Tyrannosaurus Rex may have lived in groups.

We already know that wolves in living animals and raptors in dinosaurs live in groups and hunt in groups. The reason for this is that they are weak, and if they hunt alone, they may not be able to make a living, so they hunt in groups and use collective strength to make up for the lack of individual strength. In the past, scientists generally believed that Tyrannosaurus Rex was powerful and usually lived alone and hunted alone, but now the evidence that Tyrannosaurus Rex may live in groups suggests that Tyrannosaurus Rex may not be strong enough to live alone and hunt alone.

Tyrannosaurus Rex has poor eyesight.

The skull model of Tyrannosaurus Rex. From the picture, we can see that the eye socket occupies only a small space in the skull of Tyrannosaurus Rex. (photo Source: Pixabay) We used to think that Tyrannosaurus Rex had excellent eyesight, which was a factor in their dominance in the age of dinosaurs. However, recent findings seem to shake this view. In a study published in 2022 in the journal Communication Biology, scientists found that Tyrannosaurus rex evolved narrower eye sockets to gain greater bite force.

Tyrannosaurus Rex was a scavenger? You read it right. Tyrannosaurus Rex may be a kind of scavenger. As early as 2003, American paleontologist John R. Jack "Horner" points out that Tyrannosaurus Rex is not a master hunter at all, but a scavenger that feeds on the corpses of other dinosaurs. This view is a far cry from the public impression of Tyrannosaurus Rex, but in a 2021 study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Bioscience (Proceedings Of The Royal Society B-biological Sciences), scientists believed that Tyrannosaurus Rex was still an excellent predator.

Scientists who support Tyrannosaurus Rex as a scavenger believe that Tyrannosaurus Rex is huge, but it is bound to move slowly just by moving on two legs. In 2010, Animal Morphology (Zoomorphology) published a study. Studies have shown that the speed of a juvenile Tyrannosaurus Rex can reach 20 meters per second, while that of an adult Tyrannosaurus Rex may be only 5-11 meters per second. In addition to its slow speed, Tyrannosaurus Rex was slow to respond, taking 2 seconds to make a 45-degree turn. However, it only takes 20 seconds for humans to complete a 45-degree turn. In addition, Tyrannosaurus Rex's short forelimbs are neither balanced nor suitable for hunting, so they feel that these physical features determine that Tyrannosaurus Rex is not a good predator.

It is speculated that Tyrannosaurus Rex preyed in a manner similar to that of the Komodo monitor lizard. Tyrannosaurus Rex will hide and quietly follow the injured prey, and when the prey is exhausted, they will rush out and eat it.

After reading these, is there any change in the image of Tyrannosaurus Rex in your mind? Do you think Tyrannosaurus Rex is still an excellent predator and the overlord of the dinosaur era? You are welcome to tell us what you think in the comments section.

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