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What features made tyrannosaur skulls strong enough for powerful bites?
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tyrannosaur
The fossilized remains of Sue, the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton in the world, on display at the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago.
The skulls of large tyrannosaurs were adapted for immense bite forces through two primary structural features:
- Bone Thickness: The skull bones of large specimens were often several centimeters thick, providing the necessary mass to withstand extreme pressure.12
- Structural Bracing: These bones were strongly braced to one another, creating a rigid framework capable of resisting the significant forces generated during a bite, whether the animal was attacking prey or engaging in combat with other tyrannosaurs.12
These adaptations allowed these dinosaurs to exert enough force to easily crush the skulls, pelvises, and limbs of other dinosaurs.12