WEBVTT - Did Tyrannosaurus Rex Have Lips?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff. Laurin

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<v Speaker 1>Vogelbaum here. If you're like me, you've never really thought

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<v Speaker 1>about whether or not Tyrannosaurus rex might have been a

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<v Speaker 1>good kisser. Depictions of the so named tyrant lizard king

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<v Speaker 1>a typically fixture a veritable phalanx of teeth protruding from

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<v Speaker 1>its mouth even when its mouth is closed. It's an

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<v Speaker 1>image made famous by the Jurassic Park movies. Think of

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<v Speaker 1>that creepy crocodilian grin as it's hunting Doctor Grant, or

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<v Speaker 1>you if you've been on the theme park ride. But

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<v Speaker 1>that image might not be accurate after all. A study

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<v Speaker 1>published in March of twenty twenty three in the journal

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<v Speaker 1>Science postulates that the t rex and its fellow therapod

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<v Speaker 1>dinosaurs actually did have lips that covered their teeth, more

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<v Speaker 1>like modern lizards than crocodilians. A paleo Artists have often

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<v Speaker 1>depicted therapod dinosaur mouths as similar to those of alligators

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<v Speaker 1>and crocodiles, with enormous teeth protruding yet by comparing the

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<v Speaker 1>ratio of tooth size to skull length with that of

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<v Speaker 1>lizards like the komodo dragon. The researchers behind the study

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<v Speaker 1>concluded that t rex teeth weren't necessarily too big to

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<v Speaker 1>be covered by dino lips. The authors bolstered their claim

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<v Speaker 1>by comparing the teeth of a close relative to the

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<v Speaker 1>t rex, the Displetosaurus, with those of an American alligator.

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<v Speaker 1>While the enamel on the outer side of an alligator's

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<v Speaker 1>teeth tends to wear down pretty quickly due to exposure

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<v Speaker 1>to the elements, the enamel of the dinosaur's tooth evidenced

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<v Speaker 1>no such pattern. This suggests the possibility that its teeth

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<v Speaker 1>were protected behind lips. The last piece of evidence the

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<v Speaker 1>study relied on is the similarity between certain features of

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<v Speaker 1>therapod dinosaur skulls and the skulls of lipped lizards like iguanas.

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<v Speaker 1>A lipless crocodiles and alligators have small pores over their

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<v Speaker 1>entire snouts that contain nerves sensitive to touch, heat, cold,

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<v Speaker 1>and certain chemicals in their environments. Meanwhile, lizards like iguanas

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<v Speaker 1>have a row of larger holes called foramina, aligned above

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<v Speaker 1>their teeth that contain nerves and blood vessels. A therapod

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<v Speaker 1>dinosaur skulls are more similar to the lizards, suggesting that

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<v Speaker 1>their facial structures were closer to that of lizards with lips,

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<v Speaker 1>so case closed. As with everything dinosaur related, paleontologists draw

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<v Speaker 1>their conclusions based on ancient and incomplete data, and other

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<v Speaker 1>dinoscholars aren't so sure about this whole t Rex lips situation.

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<v Speaker 1>One Thomas Carr, a vertebrate paleontologist who has studied therapod

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<v Speaker 1>facial structure, told Science that he didn't find the study persuasive.

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<v Speaker 1>His own findings indicate that theropods snouts were tough, scaly,

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<v Speaker 1>and devoid of soft tissue, and thus when it comes

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<v Speaker 1>to lips more closely resembled crocodile snouts. It's also unclear

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<v Speaker 1>whether exposure to the elements would have meaningfully damaged the

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<v Speaker 1>teeth of t Rex. If the skeptics are correct, t

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<v Speaker 1>Rex might have been perpetually smiling for the camera. After all,

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<v Speaker 1>a new evidence is always being investigated. This won't be

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<v Speaker 1>the first time that paleontologists and paleo artists have revised

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<v Speaker 1>their working draft of what the t rex's mouth looked like,

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<v Speaker 1>and it probably won't be the last. In the nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>twenties and thirties, for example, t Rex was often depicted

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<v Speaker 1>with lips, and until we found a mummified fossil of

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<v Speaker 1>a t rex skull, we won't know for sure. We

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<v Speaker 1>haven't even found any with skin patterning intact, so there's

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<v Speaker 1>a possibility that t Rex had feathers like some of

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<v Speaker 1>its smaller relatives. Today's episode is based on the article

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<v Speaker 1>t Rex didn't Kiss and Tell, but may have had

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<v Speaker 1>lips on how Stuffworks dot Com, written by Thomas Harlander.

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<v Speaker 1>The brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with

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<v Speaker 1>how Stuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang.

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