Valley of the T-Rex
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A few weeks ago, I caught a documentary on the channel Discovery Science hosted by a paleontologist named Jack Horner. The documentary was basically challenging the pre-conceived idea that the Tyranosaurus Rex was was an awesome killing machine that stalked and killed its prey with ruthless efficency. The fossil expert spent an entire summer working in the badlands of Montana, USA, in an area known as "Dinosaur Valley", and was able to unearth T-rex fossils going back to 68 million years, and analyse them.
Horner was able to prove, using undeniable scientific evidence , that the T-rex was a scavenger, and not a hunter. By examining the fossil remains of the nightmarish 7-ton beast and comparing it to the fossils of other well-known carnivorous dinosaurs (like Velociraptors and Hadrosaurus),he brought to our attention the following astonishing facts
1- He examined the leg bones of the T-rex, and compared the length of the thigh bone (upper leg), to the shin bone (lower leg). He found that the thigh bone was equal in length or slightly longer than the shin bone, and much thicker and heavier. which proves that the animal was built more for long distance walking rather than fast running. On the other hand, the fossils of fast hunting dinosaurs ALWAYS showed that the shin bone was longer than the thigh bone. This same truth can be observed in many animals of today which are designed to run fast The austrich, cheetah, kangaroo,etc...
An animal whose shin bone is longer than the thigh bone is an animal designed for speed. The T-rex could, at best, make a lumbering run no faster than 10 miles/ hour.2- The arms of the T-rex are completely useless and pathetic looking appendages which had absolutely ZERO function. They couldn't grasp, much less harm anything. Whereas other carnivourous dinosaurs had well-developped and muscular arms often equiped with lethal claws. He was able to prove, by studying the fossils of Velociraptor, how these agile and fast hunters could grasp their prey and tear it to shreds with their claws alone. The T-rex couldn't even use its hands to scratch its face, much less use them for hunting/killing prey.
3- Horner then studied the olfactory (smelling) and optical (sight) cavities in the skull of the T-rex, and was able to conclude, from the relative size of these cavities and by comparing them to the cavities of some of today's animals, that the T-rex had very poor vision but an exordinary sense of smell, more powerful than any other dinosaur. He then compared the visual organs of the eagle (hunting bird) with those of the vulture (scavenger bird), and
found startling similarities in their ratios. The eagle had a very sharp vision, enabling it to see its pray from great distances, whereas its sense of smell was at best normal. The vulture, on the other hand, had very poor vision, but could sniff a corpse from up to 10 km away!!
A land animal having poor vision cannot be an efficient hunter.4- Finally, he studied the fossil teeth of the T-rex, and compared them with the teeth of the Velociraptor, and put the nail in the coffin of the "hunter T-rex theory". The Velociraptor's teeth where like stake knifes sharp, razor-edged, and capable of tearing through flesh with ease.
The T-Rex's teeth were huge, sharp at their tip, but blunt edged and heavy, propelled by enourmous jaw muscles, which enabled them to crush bones.
He then made a comparison between the teeth of the lioness (hunting cat) and hyena (scavenger), and found the same result.
The teeth of a hunting animal have to be keen-edged in order to cut through flesh. On the other hand, scavengers usually reach their prey AFTER the hunters have done feeding, and get the leftovers. Hence, there is very little meat left, and the scavengers have to dig deep into the bone to get at the underlying strips of flesh that are left. Hence the teeth of a scavenger are blunter, heavier, and designed more for crushing bone than tearing through flesh. He even produced fossils of Triceratops (well-known horned plant-eating dinosaur) having marks of T-rex teeth embedded deep in their bones.Conclusion With the evidence presented in his documentary, Horner was able to prove that the idea of the T-rex as being a hunting and ruthless killing machine is probably just a myth. In light of the scientific clues he was able to unearth, the T-rex was a slow , sluggish animal which had poor vision, an extrordinary sense of smell, that often reached its "prey" after the real hunters were done feeding, and sometimes it had to scare the hunters away from a corpse. In order to do that, the T-rex had to have been ugly, nasty-looking, and stinky (from the flesh of dead animals it ate). This is actually true of nearly all scavenger animal (hyena, vulture bird, etc..). They are usually vile and nasty looking.
"Valley of the T-rex" is a very interesting documentary which proves how scientific /archeological evidence can disprove pre-conceived or traditional ideas which are passed down from generation to generation.
You try showing this documentary to an adolescent who loves T-rex, and considers it as nature's ultimate hunter. He will either curse you, or bundle up into a fetal position in a corner of his room and cry his heart out.
Any pre-conceived ideas or traditions not supported by scientific or archeological facts must therefore be dismissed as conjecture.
Contemplate on that the next time you watch a Jurassic Park movie and see a T-rex chasing after and nearly out-running a speeding vehicle, and plucking the driver out of it with its teeth.....Or the next time you plan your visit to the alledged "Holy City of Mecca", birthplace of Muhamad.
Peace...
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Salam Pazuzu
Thanks for the information brother
It was very interesting. I'm going to print your text out, and put it in my archive.
I agree that we must only accept something as long as it is proven by science, by historical facts, by archeological facts, Quranic facts etc. It is more exiting and frightening if T-Rex was a crazy, dangerous, murderer animal.
The people that knew this wasn't true, or relied on conjecture, these knew that by telling people that T-rex was like they have fooled us to believe, they will gain maybe more money, or it will benefit there business. Actually it is more exiting for people if T-rex was a crazy animal, because by telling us those things about T-rex it will bring more drama and therefore be more exiting. The world is bulit on material and personal interests. Conjecture and lies will sometimes give people more economical business.
Peace David
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No seriously, that is interesting. It's fun to see that kind of things in games or films, but inreality its all different. It's might just be for some wow effects, just like the giant aliens you see in films and games.
Personally i find the underwater animals much more impressive than the land ones.
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Peace Pazuzu, all,
It was really good that you posted this information here. It has very strong implications as it demonstrates three really important things.
1). It shows how we simply cannot establish conjecture as fact. I have been telling people for years that we have no way of knowing 100% what these creatures looked like when they were living because we were not there and neither is there anybody alive today who was there. As the quran says in a couple of places, Conjcture is no substitute for the truth.
2). It also demonstrates how conjecture gets established. For years, people have given the T-Rex this reputation of being the baddest dude to ever roam planet earth. It is now deeply imbedded in peoples way of thinking of this creature and because of that reason, this conjecture has been widely established and accepted as fact. The fact that Godzilla looks so much like one doesn't help matters either.
3). Most importantly (for me at least) is the methodology of comparison that Jack Horner employs in order to substantiate his conclusions. I find this to be such a major necessity in matters such as this. In fact, let's do a little comparison of our own
I can tell people that the tradtional muslim world was established from centuries of arbitration, crookedness and death to those who not only disgaree with their ways of thinking but can also prove it as well. How do I know? By simply comparing that conclusion with what we see in the traditional muslim world today. We see arbitration forced upon people (such as headcovers for women, beating them and that salaat is a 5 a day ritual), we see crookedness (like keeping women confined in their homes, barring them from equal work and educational opportunities and spreading all the ridiculous ahadith that pushes this ill-treatment of them) and we also see death, harrassment and intimidation done to those who do not wish to follow suit (like what is being done to our Quranist Brothers in Egypt as we speak and the traditional muslims apostacy rule and the fatwas they issue after someone has solidly proven wrong any of their beliefs or practices).
I'm going to do the same thing as David_K and save this bad boy to assist me in my outreach endevours.
Thanx again for posting this Pazuzu.
Peace,
Damon.