By closely examining the jaw mechanics of juvenile and adult tyrannosaurids, some of the fiercest dinosaurs to inhabit earth, scientists have uncovered differences in how they bit into their prey.

They found that younger tyrannosaurs were incapable of delivering the bone-crunching bite that is often synonymous with the Tyrannosaurus rex and that adult specimens were far better equipped for tearing out chunks of flesh and bone with their massive, deeply set jaws.

The team also found that tension from the insertion of the lower pterygoid muscle is linked to decreasing stresses near the front of the typical tyrannosaur jaw, where the animals may have applied their highest impact bite forces using their large, conical teeth.

This would be advantageous with the highly robust teeth on the anterior end of the tyrannosaur jaw, where, usually, they may have applied their highest impact bite forces. Crocodilians experience the reverse situation — they possess robust teeth near the posterior end of their mandible where they apply their highest bite forces.

Adult tyrannosaurids have been extensively studied due to the availability of relatively complete specimens that have been CT scanned.

The availability of this material has allowed for studies of their feeding mechanics. The adult Tyrannosaurus rex was capable of a 60,000 Newton bite (for comparison, an adult lion averages 1,300 Newtons) and there is evidence of it having actively preyed on large, herbivorous dinosaurs.

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