Tiny T-Rex arms could have been for slashing prey

The T-Rex is one of the fiercest of all dinosaurs and the most made fun of because of those tiny little arms. Some scientists believe that those tiny arms were leftovers from the evolution of the dinosaur. New research suggests that those tiny T-Rex arms might have been small, but they were still deadly indeed.

Paleontologist Steven Stanley from the University of Hawaii at Manoa says that those tiny 3.3-foot long arms could have been used for "vicious slashing" of prey. According to Stanley and a paper that he presented at the annual conference of the Geological Society of America, those short arms could have been an asset when fighting prey in close quarters.

The short arms and long claws on each arm would have been able to slash victims savagely in seconds. Stanley claims that the bones in the limbs show that the arms would have head significant strength and robustness. T-Rex has two claws on the arms that Stanley says would have helped the creature exert up to 50% more pressure in clawing and slashing.

The normal number of claws on for theropods was three. Stanley also points out that the point where T-Rex's arms meet the shoulder joint had a "quasi-ball-and-socket that gave considerable mobility for slashing.

Stanley also points out that slashing damage was a common form of attack among theropod taxa, which the T-Rex is part of. Stanley does admit that the usability of those arms shrank over time as the jaw became the more important weapon. Naturally, some scientists disagree with Stanley and his new assertations and research will continue.

SOURCE: ScienceAlert