How strong was a Tyrannosaurus' bite force?

[Brady Williams]

How strong could a t-rex's bite force be? What modern day animals could it compare it's bite force to? 

[Thecosmilia Trichitoma]

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-tyrannosaurus-rexs-dangerous-and-deadly-bite-37252918/ This may help.

[Omnomosaurus]

4 minutes ago, Brady Williams said:

How strong could a t-rex's bite force be? What modern day animals could it compare it's bite force to? 

 

If I recall correctly, Rex's bite force was estimated to be approx. 8000 pounds, though this figure may have been revised since I last read up on the reseach.

 

This was the strongest bite force of any terrestrial animal known to exist.

 

There are no contemporary species with a bite force even close to matching this, though the saltwater crocodile comes closest, with a bite force in the low 1000's, if I recall correctly.

[piranha]

Approximately 57,000 (N) = 12,800 pound maximum bite force:

 

Bates, K.T., Falkingham, P.L. 2012

Estimating maximum bite performance in Tyrannosaurus rex using multi-body dynamics.

Biology Letters, 8(4):660-664  PDF LINK

 

[Omnomosaurus]

19 minutes ago, piranha said:

Approximately 57,000 (N) = 12,800 pound maximum bite force:

 

Bates, K.T., Falkingham, P.L. 2012

Estimating maximum bite performance in Tyrannosaurus rex using multi-body dynamics.

Biology Letters, 8(4):660-664  PDF LINK

 

 

I think this information is now outdated.

 

A later study from 2017 found the estimates to be too large, and instead estimated a range of approx. 4000-8000 pounds for Rex's bite force:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-02161-w

 

"The maximum adult T. rex bite forces (18,014–34,522 N; 4,050–7,761 lb) reported here for seven specimens spanning the adult size range for the taxon (see Table 1) are each moderately to considerably lower than previous estimates (35,000–300,984 N^28, 29, 31; 7,869–67,667 lb)"

[piranha]

24 minutes ago, Omnomosaurus said:

 

I think this information is now outdated.

 

A later study from 2017 found the estimates to be too large, and instead estimated a range of approx. 3500-8000 pounds for Rex's bite force:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-02161-w

 

 

Thanks for the update.  I'm disappointed that my favorite theropod is losing some of its bite! 

 

On the plus side of updated research, the knowledge of T. rex ontogeny is increasing exponentially thanks to Woodward et al. 2020

CMNH has also followed suit, recently changing the label on the holotype of 'Nanotyrannus' (CMNH 7541) LINK

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

1 hour ago, piranha said:

 

 

Thanks for the update.  I'm disappointed that my favorite theropod is losing some of its bite! 

Still pretty impressive.

It might hurt if it bit you. 

[Omnomosaurus]

2 hours ago, piranha said:

 

 

Thanks for the update.  I'm disappointed that my favorite theropod is losing some of its bite! 

 

On the plus side of updated research, the knowledge of T. rex ontogeny is increasing exponentially thanks to Woodward et al. 2020

CMNH has also followed suit, recently changing the label on the holotype of 'Nanotyrannus' (CMNH 7541) LINK

 

 

Haha, sorry to diss the tyrant lizard! I'm disappointed its bragging rights have gone down a notch too!

 

Ooh, thanks for finding that new info. Looks like the Rex/Nano fiasco continues to rage on!