Is it possible that Tyrannosaurus Rex could not outrun humans?

Before the fifth mass extinction event, the giant dinosaurs had always been the dominant species on Earth. If you ask which dinosaur is the scariest, I believe everyone will say Tyrannosaurus Rex without hesitation.

In our eyes, the Tyrannosaurus Rex is huge and has sharp teeth. In many movies and TV shows, the Tyrannosaurus Rex is a terrifying monster that can run fast, crush cars with one foot, and swallow humans in one bite. The huge body and unquestionable fighting power of the Tyrannosaurus Rex are the nightmare of every animal.

However, with the continuous advancement of science and technology, archaeologists have discovered more and more secrets in the fossils of Tyrannosaurus Rex. Some scientists even believe that we have overestimated the horror of Tyrannosaurus Rex and that it may not be able to outrun humans. What is going on? Is Tyrannosaurus Rex really overestimated by us?

Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil

Is Tyrannosaurus Rex overrated?

Tyrannosaurus Rex lived in the late Cretaceous period, 66 to 68 million years ago. It is one of the largest carnivores in the world. The average length of Tyrannosaurus Rex is about 12 meters, and the weight of an adult is generally between 5.4 and 8 tons.

If you can't imagine the size of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, you can compare it to an elephant. The largest animal on land is the elephant, and their average weight is half a ton. In order to support their bulky bodies, elephants have thick limbs. But the Tyrannosaurus Rex is different. Each Tyrannosaurus Rex weighs more than ten times as much as an elephant.

Although the Tyrannosaurus Rex has four limbs, it only uses its hind limbs to stand. Its two front limbs are like cute little hands, several times smaller than its hind limbs. When standing, the upper body of the Tyrannosaurus Rex leans forward, making it very easy to fall, but it has a huge tail to keep it balanced.

Tyrannosaurus Rex has the strongest bite force among terrestrial animals. Its skull is different from other animals. There are many holes on it that can be used to fix muscles and reduce the weight of the skull. In addition, many bones are connected to the skull to prevent sliding. Therefore, Tyrannosaurus Rex has a super strong bite force. In addition, unlike other carnivorous dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus Rex has a U-shaped jaw, which allows it to bite off more meat each time.

As one of the strongest carnivores, Tyrannosaurus Rex has a very scientific tooth structure. Its teeth are closely arranged in a serrated shape. Each tooth has a distinct ridge on the side, and all are bent backwards. The sharp and backward-bent fangs can tear off the flesh of the prey like a chisel. At the same time, they also prevent the teeth from being stuck in the prey's body and unable to be pulled out.

The teeth of Tyrannosaurus Rex can reach 20 centimeters long, which is about the same length as ordinary chopsticks. With its bloody mouth, it can easily bite through humans. According to the fossils of other dinosaurs' injuries, it is speculated that the teeth of Tyrannosaurus Rex can easily bite through the hard bones of large animals. And their teeth can be constantly updated, replacing loose or broken teeth at any time.

Tyrannosaurus Rex tooth fossil

In terms of the proportion of its body and hind limbs, Tyrannosaurus Rex has one of the longest hind limbs among theropod dinosaurs, each capable of bearing a weight of more than two tons.

The three toes on the soles of the feet of Tyrannosaurus Rex touch the ground, and the metatarsals do not touch the ground. Each foot of Tyrannosaurus Rex has a narrow middle metatarsal bone and a pair of metatarsals symmetrically on both sides. The hinge-type joints allow Tyrannosaurus Rex to walk on rugged land for a long time.

Can't Tyrannosaurus Rex outrun humans?

In the movies, the Tyrannosaurus Rex can run very fast and easily catch up with and bite humans to death. So it is a very terrifying existence. However, the scientific community has always had different opinions on whether the Tyrannosaurus Rex can run very fast.

In 1993, American scientists compared the leg structure of Tyrannosaurus Rex with that of existing terrestrial animals in detail and found that the ratio of the femur to the tibia of Tyrannosaurus Rex was greater than 1, so they might have been able to walk slowly like elephants.

In 1995, paleontologist James Farlow pointed out that the body of Tyrannosaurus Rex was too heavy. If the Tyrannosaurus Rex accidentally fell, its body would hit the ground at an acceleration of about 60 meters per second, which could even cause its death. And because the forelimbs of the Tyrannosaurus Rex were too small, it could not support its body when it fell.

James Farlow also used the example of a giraffe to illustrate the necessity of the Tyrannosaurus Rex running. He believed that a giraffe running at a speed of 50 km/h would cause its legs to break. If there was an emergency situation of life and death, the Tyrannosaurus Rex could run like a giraffe. Even if the body would be injured, it would be less severe than death.

In 1998, Professor Thomas Holt found that the ratio of the tibia to femur and the ratio of the metatarsal to femur of Tyrannosaurus Rex was very large, the largest ratio among animals weighing 5 to 7 tons. However, the length of their hind limbs was much longer than that of elephants, Triceratops and other animals. This shows that Tyrannosaurus Rex had longer legs, and even if it was not running, it could use large strides to walk at a faster speed.

In 2002, Nature magazine published a study on the running speed of Tyrannosaurus Rex. A research team used alligators, humans, chickens, emus and ostriches as controls to establish a method to estimate the size of the leg muscles of Tyrannosaurus Rex at different running speeds. They found that if the leg muscles of Tyrannosaurus Rex accounted for 40% to 86% of the body volume, they could run at a speed of 40 kilometers per hour.

If the leg muscles of Tyrannosaurus Rex were smaller, it could still reach a walking speed of 18 km/h or a jogging speed. However, since the body fossils of Tyrannosaurus Rex are only bones, we cannot infer the movement speed of Tyrannosaurus Rex based on its muscles.

In 2007, a research team used data from Tyrannosaurus fossils to study its movement speed through computer calculations. The computer calculation results showed that an adult Tyrannosaurus could run 30 kilometers per hour. If the Tyrannosaurus could really run at this speed, it would easily catch up with humans and tear them apart.

However, the latest research overturned all the above statements. The research started from the tail of Tyrannosaurus Rex and restored the truth of its movement speed based on the principles of biomechanics.

John Hutchinson, a biomechanics expert at the Royal Veterinary School of the University of London, said that the tail of the Tyrannosaurus Rex balanced the body, so the weight of its tail and body accounted for at least a quarter of its own. Therefore, if the Tyrannosaurus Rex wanted to rotate its body, it had to move slowly. Even a 45-degree turn would take 2 to 3 seconds. It's like a human carrying a tree. Because the center of gravity is too high and too long, in order to avoid being "thrown" over the head by inertia, it can only move slowly.

Based on the restoration data of the Tyrannosaurus Rex fossils and the analysis of biodynamics, scientists have determined that the frequency of the Tyrannosaurus Rex's tail swings is about 0.66 times per second. The walking speed is about 1.28 meters per second, and the average speed is about 4.608 kilometers per hour. This is several times smaller than the previous estimate of humans, which is far beyond people's expectations.

You know, the speed of a human walking briskly is at least 5 kilometers per hour. In other words, if a human races with a Tyrannosaurus Rex at the same time, they can easily surpass the speed of the Tyrannosaurus Rex just by walking briskly.

Tyrannosaurus Rex is overrated for more than just speed

As a ferocious and cruel large carnivore, Tyrannosaurus Rex can only walk and move slowly. It can only be said that the Creator is fair. After giving Tyrannosaurus Rex sharp teeth and huge bite force, he took back its ability to run fast. As a carnivore, the huge size of Tyrannosaurus Rex consumes a lot of energy every day. How can it chase prey if it can't run?

In fact, the thing we underestimate about Tyrannosaurus Rex is not just its speed. Based on its inability to run fast, scientists boldly speculate that Tyrannosaurus Rex was a scavenger. And its two "cute" little forelimbs were "little hands" to help it eat corpses.

Some people say that giant herbivores are bigger than Tyrannosaurus Rex, so they must walk slower than Tyrannosaurus Rex. Therefore, giant herbivores may be fresh food for Tyrannosaurus Rex. After all, it is not harmonious to think that such a fierce-looking Tyrannosaurus Rex lies on the ground and eats the leftover corpses of other animals.

However, if the Tyrannosaurus Rex wanted to feed on giant living herbivores, it would have to be able to kill them. For example, lions or tigers would use their strong forelimbs to knock down their prey and then bite them. However, the Tyrannosaurus Rex only had a strong bite force, but no strong forelimbs, so it was impossible for it to directly hunt giant herbivores.

Comparison of Tyrannosaurus Rex and human forelimb bones

Moreover, giant herbivores will not accept the consequences, they also have weapons to protect themselves. For example, some giant herbivores are covered with hard scales to protect themselves from being bitten. Some herbivores have also evolved their tails into weapons. Once a carnivore approaches, the big tail will sweep towards the carnivore like a meteor hammer.

Moreover, scientists have discovered that Tyrannosaurus Rex had a very keen sense of smell, which undoubtedly adds evidence to the claim that Tyrannosaurus Rex was a scavenger.

Tyrannosaurus Rex and Ankylosaur

When studying the brain structure of Tyrannosaurus Rex, scientists found that Tyrannosaurus Rex had a large proportion of olfactory nerves. Tyrannosaurus Rex is one of the dinosaurs with the most developed olfactory organs, which is very similar to the olfactory characteristics of most scavengers. Because scavengers rely on sensitive noses to find food.

The Tyrannosaurus Rex, which is said to scare other animals, is actually just a vulture-like scavenger. This research result has disappointed many people. After all, everyone who worships Tyrannosaurus Rex cannot accept the image of their idol "picking up carrion to eat".

Brain structure of Tyrannosaurus Rex

Although the image of Tyrannosaurus Rex eating scavengers is hard to accept, their ability to survive is amazing. Most cold-blooded animals have a slow metabolism and can adjust their body temperature according to the ambient temperature. For example, crocodiles, frogs, and snakes are called cold-blooded animals. Warm-blooded animals that need a lot of food to supplement calories and have a faster metabolism, such as humans and birds, are warm-blooded animals.

Scientists analyzed the data on the growth rate and energy consumption of hundreds of animals. They found that the faster an animal grows, the more energy it needs, and the faster its metabolism. Scientists then calculated the metabolic rate based on the age of dinosaurs and found that dinosaurs were neither cold-blooded nor warm-blooded, but rather mesothermic animals in between.

Poikilotherms, homeotherms, and mesotherms

Mesothermic animals do not eat as much as warm-blooded animals, and because of their large size, they can walk faster than cold-blooded animals. This "golden mean" effectively increased the survival rate of Tyrannosaurus Rex, allowing them to live more easily on land. Therefore, the range of survival of Tyrannosaurus Rex is also very wide.

According to relevant data, Tyrannosaurus Rex was first born in Asia and later migrated to North America before the end of the Cretaceous period. Computer data estimates that if we were to travel back to any era when Tyrannosaurus Rex existed, the number of adult Tyrannosaurus Rex would be around 20,000.

Scientists estimate that there were 127,000 generations of Tyrannosaurus Rex from its birth to its extinction. Over such a long period of time, the number of Tyrannosaurus Rex would only increase. Perhaps the total number of Tyrannosaurus Rex exceeded 2.5 billion.

If the data includes the Tyrannosaurus Rex that have not yet grown up, the number will be even higher. However, very few Tyrannosaurus Rex can become fossils. About 1 Tyrannosaurus Rex can become a fossil for every 80 million Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil

As time goes by, more and more Tyrannosaurus Rex fossils will be discovered. With the advancement of science and technology, human beings' technology for studying ancient creatures will become more and more advanced. I believe that in the near future, we will have the opportunity to peek into more secrets of Tyrannosaurus Rex. Let us look forward to the arrival of this day together.

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