For common people, the T.Rex, scientifically called Tyrannosaurus rex (photo of the skeleton ©ScottRobertAnselmo), is the most ferocious predator in world’s history. Instead, among paleontologists for almost a century there’s been a dispute about whether it was a predator or a scavenger. Recently, a group of researchers has found in South Dakota the remains of a hadrosaur with the tooth of a T.Rex wedged between the vertebrae of its tail. This discovery is considered a proof that this animal was indeed a predator.

The paleontologists who argue that Tyrannosaurus rex was a scavenger present various evidence to support this thesis:

• The T.Rex’s arms are much shorter and weaker than those of other predators so they couldn’t be used to hold a prey
• The T.Rex has developed olfactory bulbs and nerves. This means that this animal had a highly developed sense of smell, a feature more typical of scavengers, such as vultures, than predators
• The teeth of the Tyrannosaurus rex can crush bones. This suggests that it ate bone marrow, a part of the prey not particularly nutrient that is typically eaten by scavengers who often find only those remains after the predators have eaten the flesh of their prey
• Especially in the past, the T.Rex was considered a rather slow animal and therefore not able to chase live prey

Other considerations, as well as new research carried out on the skeletons of Tyrannosaurus rex, however, have some of the paleontologists think that the T.Rex could be at least an occasional predator:

• The speed that a tyrannosaurus could reach has been re-evaluated. Now many paleontologists think that it could reach up to 40 km/h (about 25 mph), even if for a limited time
• The T.Rex had an excellent binocular vision, which is much more common in predators than in scavengers
• The structure of the head and neck of the T.Rex allowed it to absorb hard impacts, a useful feature for a predator, not for a scavenger

The skeleton of hadrosaur found in the rock formation known as Hell Creek in South Dakota is really interesting. The vertebrae in which the T.Rex tooth got stuck show signs of healing. They indicate that the hadrosaur escaped death but even more so that it was alive when it was attacked by a T.Rex.

Studies on modern predators show that about half of their attacks fail and their prey manage to escape, sometimes only wounded. Paleontologists needed to be lucky enough to find the fossil remains of an animal who survived the attack of a tyrannosaurus preserving the traces of its attacker. The odds weren’t many, in fact, over the decades just some skeletons were found with signs of T.rex possible attacks and only now this hadrosaur has been found.

The paleontologists who thought that the T.Rex was an occasional predator won’t change their minds. The controversy will go on but it seems clearer and clearer that the T.rex wasn’t just a scavenger.

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