Already considered among the most fearsome, intimidating dinosaurs, new research makes the Tyrannosaurus Rex even more imposing.
Published in the journal Scientific Reports, a new study details the teeth of the T-Rex and its therapod family members. The teeth were serrated with small ridges that allowed them to tear through bone and other tough material.
"The strange structure is actually a special arrangement of tooth tissues that increases the size of the serration, strengthening it and preventing it from wearing away quickly," study lead author Kristin Brink, of the University of Toronto, told The Washington Post. "This means that teeth could last longer in the jaw, preventing gaps from occurring in the tooth row while a new tooth is developing, allowing for a more efficient bite when piercing through the flesh of its meal."
As Live Science noted, the serrations on the teeth looked like cracks initially, but further inspection showed them to be there by design.
"I sectioned teeth from eight other theropods besides Albertosaurus, and found that the structure is actually in all theropods, and it's not actually a crack," Brink told Live Science. "They look very similar on the outside.
"It's only when you cut them open [that you see] that they're completely different."
The only living animal with this kind of tooth structure is the Komodo Dragon, a rare reptile that lives mostly in Indonesia.
"What is so fascinating to me is that all animal teeth are made from the same building blocks, but the way the blocks fit together to form the structure of the tooth greatly affects how that animal processes food," Brink said in a press release. "The hidden complexity of the tooth structure in theropods suggests that they were more efficient at handling prey than previously thought, likely contributing to their success."
