[Animals] T. rex had thin lips and a gummy smile, controversial study suggests

[BirSaNN]

Paleontologists have suggested that thin, lizard-like lips concealed the gigantic teeth of T. rex and other predatory dinosaurs, but not all experts are convinced.

Po[CENSORED]r depictions of the superpredator Tyrannosaurus rex snarling to display its gigantic, knifelike teeth are scientifically inaccurate, new research suggests.

Theropod dinosaurs — a group of bipedal, mostly meat-eating dinosaurs that included T. rex, Velociraptor and Spinosaurus — may instead have concealed their deadly chompers behind thin lips that kept their teeth hydrated and tough enough to crush bones. 

Paleontologists had already suggested that T. rex may have had lips, and there has been debate whether carnivorous dinosaurs looked more like present-day crocodiles, which don’t have lips and have protruding teeth, or if they more likely resembled monitor lizards, whose large teeth are covered by scaly lips.

"Dinosaur lips would be more similar to those of many lizards or amphibians," Thomas Cullen(opens in new tab), a paleobiologist at Auburn University in Alabama, and lead author of the new study, told Live Science in an email. "It would be a covering of skin and scales extending from the edge of the jaw enough to cover the side view of the teeth somewhat, and allow the mouth to close with a tight seal that prevents the teeth from being exposed."

Teeth need to be hydrated to stay sturdy and healthy, co-author Mark Witton(opens in new tab), a paleontologist, paleoartist and visiting researcher at the University of Portsmouth in England, told Live Science. "Crocodiles and alligators — their teeth are always breaking because they're not as strong, because they're not kept hydrated."

link: https://www.livescience.com/t-rex-had-thin-lips-and-a-gummy-smile-controversial-study-suggests