Tyrannosaurs had sensitive snouts that they may have enjoyed rubbing together while mating, scientists say

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

It made its name by terrorising Earth at the end of the Late Cretaceous, but Tyrannosaurus rex had a sensitive side too, researchers have found.

The fearsome carnivore, which stood 20 feet tall and ripped its prey to shreds with dagger-like teeth, had a snout as sensitive to touch as human fingertips, say scientists.

T rex and other tyrannosaurs would have used their tactile noses to explore their surroundings, build nests, and carefully pick up fragile eggs and baby offspring.



Radical shakeup of dinosaur family tree points to unexpected Scottish origins Read more

But the snout is thought to have served another purpose. Experts believe that males and females rubbed their sensitive faces together in a prehistoric form of foreplay.

Writing in the journal Scientific Reports, the US authors describe how the sensitive skin may have proved crucial to the dinosaur’s mating success. “In courtship, tyrannosaurids might have rubbed their sensitive faces together as a vital part of pre-copulatory play,” they explain.

The findings follow the discovery of a new member of the tyrannosaur family called Daspletosaurus horneri in Montana, US.

D horneri lived before T rex about 74m years ago and was three-quarters the size of its later cousin, with a body length of nine metres (29.5ft).

Unusually well preserved fossil skulls and skeletons of several of the creatures were found, including adults and juveniles.

It was the face of D horneri that yielded the most important information, opening a new window on tyrannosaur evolution and anatomy.

Scientists believe the dinosaur and other tyrannosaurs including T rex wore a mask of large, flat scales, with regions of tough and protective armour-like skin around the snout and jaws.

Strikingly, the hard surface of the snout was penetrated by numerous small nerve openings, or foramina.

These would have allowed hundreds of branches of the trigeminal nerve to reach the surface of the snout, turning the dinosaur’s face into a sensitive third “hand”.

New Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton latest in a flurry of finds Read more

A similar arrangement is seen today in crocodiles and alligators, which have thousands of tiny sensitive bumps called integumentary sensory organs around their jaws. In 2011, scientists at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History in Connecticut reported that the animals rubbed these sensitive bumps on the face and body “profusely” before mating, and found the behaviours “frequently result in what appears to be overstimulation.”

Lead scientist Dr Thomas Carr, from Carthage College in Wisconsin, said: “Given that the foramina are identical in tyrannosaurs, [that] indicates that they had super-sensitive skin as well.”

The trigeminal nerve plays a special sensory role in many mammals, reptiles and birds, carrying sensory signals from whiskers and electrical receptors and enabling the pit viper to home in on infrared radiation from warm-blooded prey.

Crocodiles sense both touch and vibrations in water via the trigeminal nerve, while migrating birds may use it to detect magnetic fields.

Co-author Prof Jayc Sedlmayr, from Louisiana State University, said: “Our finding of a complex sensory web is especially interesting because it is derived from the trigeminal nerve which has an extraordinary evolutionary history of developing into wildly different ‘sixth senses’ in different vertebrates.”</s>Tyrannosaurus Rex may have been the most fearsome creature ever to walk the Earth, but he was also a sensitive lover, a new dinosaur discovery suggests.

The terrifying meat-eater, which stood 20 feet tall and had jaws bristling with serrated teeth up to nine inches long, had a snout as sensitive to touch as human fingertips, say scientists.

T-Rex and other “tyrannosaurs” would have used their tactile noses to investigate their surroundings, build nests, and carefully pick up fragile eggs and baby offspring.

But another possibility is that males and females enjoyed rubbing their sensitive faces together while mating, experts believe.

The US researchers wrote in the journal Scientific Reports: “In courtship, tyrannosaurids might have rubbed their sensitive faces together as a vital part of pre-copulatory play.”

The findings follow the discovery of a new member of the tyrannosaur family called Daspletosaurus horneri (Horner’s frightful lizard) in Montana, US.

D. horneri lived before T-Rex around 74 million years ago and was three quarters the size of its later cousin, with a body length of 29.5 feet.

Unusually well preserved fossil skulls and skeletons of several of the creatures were found, including adults and juveniles.

It was the “face” of D. horneri that yielded the most important information, opening a new window on tyrannosaur evolution and anatomy.

Scientists believe the dinosaur and other tyrannosaurs including T-Rex wore a mask of large, flat scales, with regions of tough and protective amour-like skin around the snout and jaws.#

Strikingly, the hard surface of the snout was penetrated by numerous small nerve openings, or “foramina”.

These would have allowed hundreds of branches of the trigeminal nerve to access the surface of the snout, turning the dinosaur’s whole face into a super-sensitive third “hand”.

A similar arrangement is seen today in crocodiles and alligators, which have thousands of tiny sensitive bumps called integumentary sensory organs (ISOs) around their jaws.

Lead scientist Dr Thomas Carr, from Carthage College in Wisconsin, said: “Given that the foramina are identical in tyrannosaurs indicates that they had super-sensitive skin as well.”

The trigeminal nerve plays a special sensory role in many mammals, reptiles and birds, carrying sensory signals from whiskers and electrical receptors and enabling the pit viper to home in on infrared radiation from warm-blooded prey.

Crocodiles sense both touch and vibrations in water via the trigeminal nerve, and migrating birds use it to detect magnetic fields.

Co-author Professor Jayc Sedlmayr, from Louisiana State University, said: “Our finding of a complex sensory web is especially interesting because it is derived from the trigeminal nerve which has an extraordinary evolutionary history of developing into wildly different ‘sixth senses’ in different vertebrates.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun.</s>Most people don't think of Tyrannosaurus Rex or any of its less famous cousins as adorable, but paleontologists with Carthage College in Wisconsin have reconstructed the face of one of its relatives to better understand the evolution of dinosaur species. Among their finds was that tyrannosaurs probably rubbed snouts as a gesture of affection prior to foreplay.

Today's paleontologists know that dinosaurs have much more in common with birds than previously believed: they were feathery, beaked creatures with a distinctively birdlike gaits. However, many dinosaurs lacked beaks — only the species that died out later on have them.

The Carthage team detailed the face and head of Daspletosaurus horneri, a close relative of T. rex. D. horneri was a bit smaller than T. rex, only 30 feet long instead of 40, but it and T. rex were highly similar species that both lived in the late Cretaceous Era.

The facial reconstruction was "critical to understanding the evolutionary transition from nonbeak to beak along the line to birds, since beaks are specialized epidermal structures," wrote the Carthage College team.

The well-preserved D. horneri skull showed signs of the nerves and tissues that once lay on top of the bone, allowing the team to reconstruct its face with the help of the sizable database of tyrannosaur bones. "With this dinosaur, we've literally changed the face of tyrannosaurs," said study lead Thomas Carr, an associate professor of Biology at Carthage.

Among the team's findings were that D. horneri had extremely similar internal wiring on their lower jaws to birds and crocodiles. For instance, the reconstruction indicates the presence of a trigeminal nerve, which is present in animals who detect vibration, infrared, electricity, and magnetic fields with their faces.

D. horneri's trigeminal nerve connected to its nose and mouth, meaning it probably used its snout for sensory information. This would give D.horneri "high resolution tactile sensations from the skin, making their snouts more sensitive than human fingertips."

The nerve also "would have aided adult tyrannosaurids in harmlessly picking up eggs and nestlings and, in courtship, tyrannosaurids might have rubbed their sensitive faces together as a vital part of pre-copulatory play."

In other words, T. rexes probably would eskimo kiss before getting down and dirty. If you take nothing else from this article, take away that mental image.

If tyrannosaurs relied so heavily on their faces for sensory information, that makes it unlikely that they had feathers on their faces. It also takes credence away from the theory that T. rex had lips. "There's no evidence for lips here," said Carr. "The flat scales cover the entire side of the snout and go to the tooth row," l

So it looks like eskimo kissing was the only sort T. rex did.</s>You know how it goes: It’s Friday night. You’re exhausted, but also in the mood and while you’d definitely be down for some gentle sexing, the poet-slash-baristas you come across on Tinder aren’t exactly appealing. Well, next time that happens, just throw on a DVD of Jurassic Park and call it a night, because scientists have discovered that the Tyrannosaurus rex may have been a sensitive lover.

As Press Association reports, the T. rex is widely regarded as one of the most terrifying creatures to ever walk the earth — standing at 20 feet tall and with nine-inch-long sharp teeth. However, the fearsome carnivore actually had a snout as sensitive to touch as the human fingertip, according to scientists, and it’s now believed that the male and female T. rex would rub their sensitive faces together while banging.

“In courtship, tyrannosaurids might have rubbed their sensitive faces together as a vital part of precopulatory play,” a team of researchers wrote in the journal Scientific Reports, per PA.

The findings came after the Daspletosaurus horneri, a new member of the tyrannosaur family, was discovered in Montana. The fossil of the dinosaur’s face provided new information about the T. rex snout, which was found to have numerous small nerve openings — similar to a third, super-sensitive hand. Nowadays, similar arrangements are seen in crocodiles and alligators, which apparently have thousands of small, sensitive bumps around their jaws.

Can’t wait to run into you at the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs at the American Museum of Natural History this weekend.</s>Tyrannosaurus rex had sensitive snouts which they may have rubbed together as a form of foreplay.

A study by US researchers has found that despite its huge skull, the T-rex was able to delicately pick up its offspring, detect the temperature of its nest and carefully maintain it using its sensitive snout.

The bumpy snout was covered in flat scales with openings for nerves, which made it as sensitive as human fingertips. This also made it useful for love making.

“In courtship, tyrannosaurids might have rubbed their sensitive faces together as a vital part of pre-copulatory play,” says the study, published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The researchers have compared the function of the soft tissue and scales to those of today’s crocodiles.

They made the findings partly from studying the Daspletosaurus horneri (which means Horner’s frightful lizard), a new discovery and ancestor of the tyrannosaurus rex. Several of this species were found in Montana, unusually well-preserved.</s>A team of researchers, including UNM Honors College Professor Jason R. Moore, has found a new species of tyrannosaur dinosaur — the most popular of the prehistoric creatures.

After the fossils were pulled out of the muddy banks of a Montana river, the team was able to analyze the texture of the facial bones of the new species. The findings suggest that the face of tyrannosaurs was covered in a scaly protective layer with a high degree of tactile sensitivity, similar to crocodiles.

“Being a tyrannosaur, they had really small arms,” says Moore. “They wouldn’t be able to interact with their environment with their hands the way mammals do — find food, build nests, tend to eggs and young. In order to do these things, Daspletosaurus needed to use its feet or head. The discovery and analysis of the tyrannosaur shows that the dinosaur had a developed face sensitivity similar to the sensitivity in our finger tips, suggesting it could use its snout for all those complex ecological interactions, similar to the way crocodiles do today.”

An investigation by a team of scientists from Wisconsin, Australia, Louisiana, Montana and New Mexico has identified and named the new species of the tyrannosaur clan: Daspletosaurus horneri – “Horner’s Frightful Lizard.”

The species is named for the renowned dinosaur paleontologist, John “Jack” R. Horner, formerly curator at the Museum of the Rockies (MOR) in Bozeman, Montana. The tyrannosaur’s name honors his discoveries of numerous dinosaur fossils and his mentorship of so many students that launched them on to accomplished scientific careers. The name-bearing specimens are stored in the research collections of the MOR.

The fossil resources of Montana, where the new tyrannosaur was found, are central to studies of dinosaur evolution.

“Montana, similar to many Rocky Mountain states, has lots of rock exposed at the right time and right environment to contain dinosaurs,” says Moore. “The fossils are found preserved in ancient river channels and flood plains. If you know what you’re looking for, they are widespread.”

The research is led by Thomas Carr of Carthage College’s Department of Biology in Wisconsin, an expert on the evolution and growth of Tyrannosaurus rex and its closest relatives, collectively called tyrannosaurs.

The family tree

 In addition to adding a new species to the tyrannosaur family tree, the team’s research provides new information about the mode of evolution and life appearance of tyrannosaurs, specifically the face.

This latest study, published in Nature Publishing Group’s Scientific Reports, found evidence for a rare, nonbranching type of evolution in tyrannosaurs and that tyrannosaurs had scaly, lipless faces and a highly touch-sensitive snout.

“Daspletosaurus horneri was the youngest, and last, of its lineage that lived after its closest relative, D. torosus, which is found in Alberta, Canada,” says Carr. “The geographic proximity of these species and their sequential occurrence suggests that they represent a single lineage where D. torosus has evolved into D. horneri.”

Moore elaborated, “One of the difficulties in demonstrating this style of evolution is establishing that the different species don’t overlap in time. The new radiometric dates we measured help support this temporal separation between D. torosus and D. horneri.”

The research confirms that the ages of the two species shows that the evolution of the dinosaur was slow—happening over a span of 2.3 million years.

The team’s work literally changes the face of tyrannosaurs, which they found was covered by a lipless ‘mask’ of large flat scales and extensive patches of armor-like skin. This conclusion results from comparison of tyrannosaur skulls with those of crocodylians, birds and mammals, and earlier work by other researchers who had matched bone texture with different types of skin covering.

Jayc Sedlmayr, professor at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans, explained, “Much of our research … was generated from lab based comparative anatomy, where you get arms deep in ‘blood and guts’ dissecting birds—living dinosaurs and crocodilians—their closest living relatives.”

The crocodile connection 

 “It turns out that tyrannosaurs are identical to crocodylians in that the bones of their snouts and jaws are rough, except for a narrow band of smooth bone along the tooth row,” explained Carr. “We did not find any evidence for lips in tyrannosaurs: the rough texture covered by scales extends nearly to the tooth row, providing no space for lips.”

“However, we did find evidence for other types of skin on the face, including areas of extremely coarse bone that supported armor-like skin on the snout and on the sides of the lower jaws. The armor-like skin would have protected tyrannosaurs from abrasions, perhaps sustained when hunting and feeding.”

The researchers found that, like in crocodylians, the snout and jaws of the tyrannosaurs are penetrated by numerous small nerve openings, allowing hundreds of branches of nerves to innervate the skin, producing a sensitivity similar to that of human fingertips.

This sensitivity is part of a bigger evolutionary story, explained Sedlmayr. “The trigeminal nerve has an extraordinary evolutionary history of developing into wildly different ‘sixth senses’ in different vertebrates, such as sensing magnetic fields for bird migration, electroreception for predation in the platypus bill or the whisker pits of dolphins, sensing infrared in pit vipers to identify prey, guiding movements in mammals through the use of whiskers, sensing vibrations through the water by alligators and turning the elephant trunk into a sensitive ‘hand’ similar to what has been done to the entire face of tyrannosaurs.”</s>Dinosaurs aren't usually called out on their lovemaking skills, but thanks to a new study published online Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports, we might be looking at the T-Rex family in a new, romantic light.

The study by a team of international researchers explains how the sensitive skin on the dinosaur's snout may have proved very important to its mating ritual.

"In courtship, tyrannosaurids might have rubbed their sensitive faces together as a vital part of pre-copulatory play," the study says.

Much of the study attributes the findings to the newly discovered Daspletosaurus horneri, "Horner's Frightful Lizard," a member of the tyrannosaur family whose fossils were found in the US state of Montana.

While this particular species of dinosaur existed before the T-Rex we know and love, and measured much smaller at 29.5 feet (9 meters), D horneri fossils provided much more information about tyrannosaur anatomy.

Dinosaurs in the T-Rex family have large scales and armor-like skin on their faces, but the nose itself contains many small nerve openings called foramina, making it extremely sensitive to touch.

Hypersensitive snouts aren't just prevalent in the T-Rex family of dinosaurs. Crocodiles and alligator also use their integumentary sensory organs (thousands of small receptive bumps) around their jaws, and tend to rub their jaws with a potential mate as foreplay.

This new study may give T-Rex fans extra insight on the dinosaur's sex skills, but don't expect the kind of romance found in popular dinosaur erotica books like "Taken by T-Rex."

Batteries Not Included: The CNET team shares experiences that remind us why tech stuff is

Solving for XX: The industry seeks to overcome outdated ideas about "women in tech."</s>A newly discovered species of Tyrannosaurus, a relative of T. rex, has revealed a surprising feature that may have been shared among this group of Cretaceous carnivores: a remarkably sensitive face.

Standing at more than 2m (6ft) high and 9m (29ft) long, the carnivorous Daspletosaurus horneri – which means Horner's frightful lizard – would have been a fearsome predator. Its sensitive facial scales may have added to its brutal efficiency at hunting and killing prey, reveals a study published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The fossil remains of several adults and juveniles of the species Daspletosaurus horneri were unearthed in Montana, US. It is thought to have lived there about 75 million years ago and was one of the last of its kind to have evolved in what is now the western US.

Examining the skulls and skeletons from several adults and juveniles of the species, researchers were able to start to piece together what the tyrannosaur would have looked like.

But looking at bones can only get you so far when reconstructing a dinosaur's appearance. The specimens' soft tissue was not preserved by fossilisation. The palaeontologists were able to team up with scientists studying the anatomy of modern-day dinosaur relatives to hone in on what these lost tissues were like.

Dissection of birds – sometimes called ''living dinosaurs'' – and crocodilians helped to shed light on the facial structure of the tyrannosaur. The presence of many holes in the skull, called foramina, showed that the tyrannosaur had many nerves and blood vessels passing through to the soft tissues surrounding it.

A rich supply of blood and nerves to the tissues suggests that the dinosaur's facial skin and scales were very sensitive, helping it to identify objects.

"In some ways, the facial components of the trigeminal nerve of these dinosaurs mirrors that of humans," said study author Jayc Sedlmayr, an anatomist at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Centre.

"The human trigeminal nerve provides significant touch sensitivity to the face. It brings back sensation from our facial muscles, allowing us to fine tune and coordinate the emotional and social displays so important to human communication."

Daspletosaurus horneri is also thought to have had large, flat scales covering its face, patches of armour-like skin, and no lips.

"It turns out that tyrannosaurs are identical to crocodilians in that the bones of their snouts and jaws are rough, except for a narrow band of smooth bone along the tooth row," said study author Thomas Carr of Carthage College.

"In crocodilians, the rough texture occurs on deep to large flat scales; given the identical texture, tyrannosaurs had the same covering. We did not find any evidence for lips in tyrannosaurs, the rough texture covered by scales extends nearly to the tooth row, providing no space for lips."</s>A new dinosaur dug out of the badlands of Montana has changed the face of T Rex.

The predatory beast was almost as big as the largest carnivore ever to stalk the Earth, and had features just like a crocodile's - meaning its famous cousin would have looked the same.

Its head was covered by a mask of large, flat scales with regions of armour like skin on the snout and jaws.

Ornamental horns behind the eye were covered by keratin, the hard and shiny material that makes human fingernails.

And the creature, about 30 feet long and more than seven feet tall had no lips - making T Rex uglier than we even imagined.

The snout would also have been as sensitive to touch as a hand - not that any animal would have been mad enough to stroke it.

The discovery is groundbreaking because it fills a gap in the fossil record of tyrannosaurs.

The species, named Daspletosaurus horneri, meaning 'Frightful Lizard', evolved directly from its older relative, D. torosus - a rare form of evolution called anagenesis where one species gradually morphs into a new one.

Remains from both adults and juveniles were so well preserved scientists were even able to reconstruct the nerves and arteries of the extinct animal. They were roaming the planet around 75 million years ago when they died.

The trigeminal nerve, which is responsible for feeling sensation in the face, as well as biting and chewing, resembled a human's, according to the findings published in Scientific Reports.

"It turns out tyrannosaurs are identical to crocodylians in that the bones of their snouts and jaws are rough, except for a narrow band of smooth bone along the tooth row," said Biologist Dr Thomas Carr, of Carthage College, Wisconsin.

"In crocodylians, the rough texture occurs deep to large flat scales; given the identical texture, tyrannosaurs had the same covering.

"We did not find any evidence for lips in tyrannosaurs, the rough texture covered by scales extends nearly to the tooth row, providing no space for lips."

He added: "The armour-like skin would have protected tyrannosaurs from abrasions, perhaps sustained when hunting and feeding."

A mule drawn sled was required to haul from the mud the skull and skeleton of the older adult specimen of Daspletosaurus horneri, meaning 'Frightful Lizard'.

The dinosaur graveyard near the Rocky Mountains also included a skull and skeleton, part of the lower jaw and isolated bones from younger adults, as well as bones from juveniles.

The scientists compared tyrannosaur skulls with those of crocodylians, birds and mammals as well as earlier research that matched bone texture with different types of skin covering.

"Much of our research went beyond field paleontology - it was generated from lab-based comparative anatomy, the dissection of birds as living dinosaurs and crocodilians as their closest living relatives," said Anaatomist Dr Jayc Sedlmayr, of Louisiana State University.

"Based on the similarities of the facial nerves and arteries we found in those same groups which left a trace on the bone, we were able to then reconstruct in the new tyrannosaur species."

His own research was based on dissecting birds, alligators, crocodiles, lizards and turtles, including injecting their blood vessels and doing blood vessel scans from some of the specimens.

If a specific nerve or artery went through a particular opening or groove in a bone in both birds and crocodiles, and this is also found in dinosaurs, he could then reconstruct that nerve or artery in the extinct animal.

"Our findings of a complex sensory web is especially interesting because it is derived from the trigeminal nerve which has an extraordinary evolutionary history of developing into wildly different 'sixth senses' in different vertebrates," explained Dr Sedlmayr.

"Sensing magnetic fields for bird migration, electroreception for predation in the platypus bill or the former whisker pits of dolphins, sensing infrared in pit vipers to identify prey, guiding mammals movements through the use of whiskers, sensing vibrations through the water by alligators, and turning the elephant trunk into a sensitive hand similar to what has been done to the entire face of tyrannosaurs."

Its prey were horned dinosaurs, crested duckbill dinosaurs, dome-headed dinosaurs and smaller theropod dinosaurs. It was the last species of Daspletosaurus to have evolved in the American west.

"In some ways, the facial components of the trigeminal nerve of these dinosaurs mirrors that of humans," said Dr Sedlmayr.

"The human trigeminal nerve provides significant touch sensitivity to the face. It brings back sensation from our facial muscles allowing us to fine tune and coordinate the emotional and social displays so important to human communication.

"This nerve is so sensitive that in pathological conditions, trigeminal neuraligia, it can be responsible for some of the most severe pain our species can endure; in extreme cases, the pain is so great that many people suffering from it end up committing suicide. "

T Rex was bigger than D horneri, around 40 feet long and up to 20 feet tall.</s>All animals fuck, but not all of them fuck tenderly. Bed bugs? Nah. Wolves? For life. Tortoises? Often, but not tenderly. Humans: Sometimes. We can add one more species to the animal kingdom that probably practiced a tender, loving mating ritual, however -- that soulful, sensual dinosaur king, the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

It's true. The Guardian reports today that in its hot and heavy Late Cretaceous days of youth, the sharp-toothed T. Rex did what came naturally, nuzzling their extra-feelsy snouts against each other as foreplay before they got down to the kinkier stuff. According to the academic journal Scientific Reports, “In courtship, tyrannosaurids might have rubbed their sensitive faces together as a vital part of pre-copulatory play.”
Scientific Reports publishes Carthage College research that Daspletosaurus horneri, from the same Tyrannosauridae family as the Tyrannosaurus rex, had a sensitive nose. The research describes that foramina sprouted from the trigeminal nerve at the snout and jaws possibly enabling the behavioral functions of exploration, courtship, nesting, foreplay, and parental investment.