[Animals] They discover why the arms of the T-rex were so short

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The short arms of the T-rex would be the result of an evolutionary process that would have protected these limbs against a latent threat
If the dinosaurs themselves are fascinating to science, with more reason they attract the enigmatic predators of those times. In this sense, the Tyrannosaurus rex is the subject of several investigations that seek to discover what this animal was like. One of the questions that, ironically, continues to arise has to do with the size of the T-rex's arms. Much has been said on the subject, since it calls into question the very evolutionary logic.

Of course, to date there are theories that seek to make sense of this matter, however, none seems to be approved by the scientific majority. This could be about to change. Recently, the American paleontologist, Kevin Padian, has published, in a publication of the journal, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, what could become the most widely accepted proposal on the reduced size of the T-rex's arms. These are what we know.

Other theories
One of the earliest theories on the subject came from Henry Fairfield Osborn, the man who described and named the huge predator. According to his perspective, the short arms of the T-rex would be so because they would function as "pectoral braces". That is, these limbs would be necessary to support the female during co[CENSORED]tion. In addition to not having evidence, this theory lacks sufficient support, since the size of the Tyrannosaurus rex opposes the described use.

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It has also been mentioned that, most likely, the arms of the T-rex were a kind of support that this dinosaur used to get up in case of falls or other incidents. In short, these members of the body of the Tyrannosaurus rex would be essential to stand up.

Until now, the most accepted theory about the small size of the T-rex arms is that of allometric growth. This type of development is the one that is related to the uneven maturity of the organs and other parts of the body. If so, these limbs would not have always been so tiny, but their development would have lagged behind other areas of the anatomy of this dinosaur.

Kevin Padian argues that these types of theories are not strong enough, because they do not answer the main question: why did the T-rex's arms become so short? The American paleontologist says there must be some advantage to these members getting so small. In other words: there has to be an evolutionary sense.

Why were T-rex arms so small?
Kevin Padian's research proposes something different. As proposed by this new hypothesis, the arms of the Tyrannosaurus rex were shortened to avoid being accidentally or intentionally mutilated. Padian points out that these limbs would have been the result of natural selection that would benefit the dinosaur in various circumstances. An example is feeding together with other members of the species, just when one of them could be injured by the voracity of the moment.

What Padian proposes would make the question more logical. In this way, the T-rex would not have a part of its body so exposed that it could easily be amputated. Evolution would have, then, favored the protection of these limbs of the dinosaur, which would be at high risk if they were larger.

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Although the Padian hypothesis takes into account important aspects of evolutionary behavior, there are those who do not agree with this new idea. This is the case of Thomas Holtz, an American paleontologist from the University of Maryland. Holtz says that it does make sense to him that T-rex could be harmed if many individuals were feeding at the same time, but what he doesn't believe is that this happened regularly enough to generate selective pressure. .

Padian acknowledges that this hypothesis still needs to be studied more rigorously. He considers that his proposal needs to be analyzed by a group of specialists who work with different preserved specimens. Only in this way will it be possible to find the sustenance that is so lacking to answer the question with more certainty.

https://www.ngenespanol.com/animales/por-que-los-brazos-del-t-rex-eran-tan-pequenos/