T. rex had lips to hide those giant teeth, scientists say
- New research suggests that unlike their popular depictions, theropod dinosaurs did not have exposed teeth when their jaws were closed
- Instead of the crocodile-like look they have in films like Jurassic Park, T. rex mouths may have resembled those of lizards, like Komodo dragons
They probably did not smile, frown or snarl, but T. rex and its relatives almost certainly had the dinosaur equivalent of lips – a new finding by scientists that challenges popular depictions of these predators as having big nasty teeth sticking out of their mouths.
Researchers said on Thursday three lines of evidence – the skull and jaw anatomy in the group called theropods that encompassed all the meat-eating dinosaurs, the wear patterns of their teeth and the relationship between tooth size to skull size – all indicated the presence of liplike structures.
“Our study suggests that theropod dinosaurs did not have exposed teeth when the mouth was closed,” said Auburn University palaeontologist Thomas Cullen, lead author of the study published in the journal Science.
“Dinosaur lips would be different from mammal lips in that they would cover the teeth but could not be moved independently – couldn’t be curled back into a snarl or make other sorts of movements we associate with lips in humans or other mammals,” Cullen said.
“In this way, dinosaur lips would be more similar to those of many lizards or amphibians, even if we typically associate the structure and term with mammals like ourselves.”