New Study Suggests T. Rex Actually Had Scaly Lips

NEW YORK (AP) — The Tyrannosaurus rex is often shown baring huge, sharp teeth, just like the ferocious creature from “Jurassic Park.” But new research suggests that this classic image could be wrong.

The teeth of T. rex and other large theropods were likely covered by scaly lips, he concludes a study published Thursday in the journal Science. The dinosaur’s teeth did not protrude when its mouth was closed, and even in an open bite, only the tips may be visible, the scientists found.

The research is the latest in a long debate about what dinosaur mouths actually looked like.

Recent depictions show large teeth protruding from dinosaur jaws, even when closed. Some thought the predators’ teeth were too big to fit in their mouths, said study author Thomas Cullen, a paleontologist at Auburn University in Alabama.

However, when the researchers compared living dinosaur and reptile skulls, they found that this was not the case. Some large monitor lizards actually have larger teeth than T. rex compared to the size of their skull, and can still fit them under a pair of scaly lips, Cullen said.

The scientists also found clues in the wear pattern of tooth surfaces.

For a creature like a crocodile, whose teeth protrude from its mouth, the exposed part wears away quickly, “as if someone had brought a sander to the side of the tooth,” said another study author, Mark Witton, a paleoartist at the University of England. . Portsmouth.

But when the researchers analyzed a tooth from a Daspletosaurus, a relative of T. rex, they found it was in good condition and didn’t show that patchy pattern of damage.

With this evidence and other clues from dinosaur anatomy, the study makes a good case for lipped tyrannosaurs, said University of Maryland paleontologist Thomas Holtz, who was not involved with the study. Still, “we’re not talking about kissing lips,” he noted, they would be thin and scaly like those of the Komodo dragon, a large lizard.

It’s not the first time our depictions of dinosaurs have been called into question: Other research has shown that the T-rex was more stooped than we used to think, and that ferocious velociraptors likely sported feathers. Most of what we know about dinosaurs comes from their bones, but it may be more difficult to get clear answers about soft tissues like skin, which are typically not preserved as fossils.

Adding lips can make the dinosaurs look a little less ferocious, but it also makes them feel more realistic, Witton said.

“You don’t really see a monster,” he said. “You see an animal.”

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