If you’ve always wondered how Tyrannosaurs Rex ate the horned monstrosity that was a Triceratops, you need puzzle no longer. Scientists have finally pieced together how they did it — and it was surprisingly straightforward.
Nature reports that researchers from the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana, have analysed a heap of bite-scarred Triceratops bones to come up with the new theory, which explains how T. Rex went about devouring the dinosaur. They’ve established four major steps, but the overall approach was a gruesome one: “the easiest way to do this was to pull the head off,” explained lead researcher Denver Fowler to Nature.
But, hey, let’s get down to business. Nature has synthesised the major steps, which correspond to the diagrams above:
1. Get a good grip on the neck frill.
2. Tear the head off to expose the tasty neck muscles.
3. Nibble on the soft flesh of Triceratops’ face.
4. Feast on the delicacies beneath the frill.
Easy! In fact, the whole exercise suggests that T. Rex was actually far more delicate than Jurassic Park may have us believe. There’s a restraint involved in eating a Triceratops like this. Kind of. [Nature]
Images: mcdittex/Flickr, Nate Carroll/Nature