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Palaeontology

T. rex could turn like a 'figure skater from hell'

By T.K. Randall
November 9, 2018 · Comment icon 5 comments

Despite its size, T. rex was far from slow and cumbersome. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 David Monniaux
It turns out that the terrifying Tyrannosaurus rex was more than adept at turning quickly on the spot.
It was one of the most ferocious predators ever to walk the face of the Earth and while there is no denying the destructive power of its massive razor-sharp teeth, its overall speed and flexibility - especially given its enormous size - has often been a topic of debate among scientists.

Now though, a new study seems to have put to bed any notion of T. rex being slow and clumsy - instead painting the Cretacious-era predator as particularly efficient at quickly turning around.

The research involved calculating a 'turning acceleration index' for various therapod dinosaurs based on the most up-to-date findings on dinosaur muscle mass and soft tissues

Incredibly, despite its size, Tyrannosaurs rex always seemed to come out on top.

"No matter what their body size, tyrannosaurs always seemed able to turn their bodies twice as quickly as other blade-toothed carnivorous dinosaurs of the same mass," said Professor Eric Snively.
This would have made T. rex particularly capable of quickly spinning around and pouncing on prey.

"An adult T. rex could turn like a slow-motion 10-ton figure skater from hell," said Snively.

"Juvenile tyrannosaurs were much scarier. Their turning ability suggests that tyrannosaurs could successfully attack smaller, younger and/or more dangerous prey than other carnivorous dinosaurs would bother to tackle."

Source: Live Science | Comments (5)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #1 Posted by Ozymandias 6 years ago
 A T. Rex pirouetting in a tootoo on ice skates. Imagine!
Comment icon #2 Posted by Wreck7 6 years ago
Like a chicken on a June bug.
Comment icon #3 Posted by Jon the frog 6 years ago
Have some chicken and when they start to chase something it feel like Jurassic park ! A couple of year ago they were attacking a rabbit they got their beak full of fur, lol, crazy chicken.
Comment icon #4 Posted by AllPossible 6 years ago
Would like to see the big game hunters in an closed area with them. 
Comment icon #5 Posted by The Caspian Hare 6 years ago
"He was the world's greatest predator, but what he really wanted to do was dance."


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