@nick sweeney And then in the 5. day God made Trex and said. "Behold thee! This beast of land with gigant mouth, I made for edibles! Shall it rebell against it's nature, it shall embarrass itself."
T-rex is essentially a giant mouth, it doesnt need huge arms because they would simply get in the way of it just biting the absolute fuck outta something. If anything they were probably used sparingly like for helping it get up from off the ground or securing itself while mating
My personal theory is that T Rex needed them when they were born, so had more musculature and range of motion to help catch and hold prey as young dinos. But as they grew older, and their massive heads developed, they no longer needed their arms, and so they atrophied while the body used those resources for building and maintaining their powerful jaws instead.
Oh, I agree. But I do believe nobody is considering how the arms and hands were probably used in nesting, incubation, and sheltering newly hatched young in adulthood. They do state their hands turn inward after all and could be held close to the body. So what better methods do archeologists think the T-rex took to keep their young, who very likely have issues in body heat self-regulation, warm and sheltered? I guess motherhood is not glamorous enough to consider that was probably their most essential use.
This is brilliant. I rarely see anyone considering the developmental aspects of dinosaur biology. It certainly makes more sense than anything else I've heard.
there is Ted talk from a renegade scientist that gives legitimacy to your theory. Essentially, he explained that dinosaurs underwent metamorphosis over the course of their lives and uses radio imaging of different skull fossil to demonstrate. he gets deeper and shows that a smaller dinosaur that is named a different species is actually just an adolescent TRex. Needless to say, he is shunned by the mainstream Paleontologists of the world.
I'd say they were primarily defensive to protect against "center of gravity" attacks. Its chest area is the most exposed area and likely where other T-Rexes would target, trying to get underneath for a toss. These were likely used more like "hooks" to maintain stability should any creature manage to get underneath them.
As an addition, those arms may also have been used as “clamp hooks” to stay on top of prey. The T-Rex primary attack is with its massive jaws. Once the jaws lock on, the T-Rex likely then used its body weight to hold the prey down (much like big cats do). Once the chest is pressed down on the prey, the arms then clamp down to secure the prey. This would explain the need for strength in the arms, while not needing the reach.
Honestly, I've always assumed the reason they have tiny arms was something similar to how a lot of ratites have wings despite being flightless birds. Just a latent evolutionary holdover that was never fully breed out as they moved past the need for forelimbs.
@@michaelstylezz3870 well the young ones supposedly had feathers on their entire body and lost them as they got older and yuty had feathers full grown So the idea that they were in a process of evolution is Def not far fetched that at some point these were wings that evolved into some kind of almost useless arms
not to be that guy but the the human pinky is actually very important for your grip strength, just look at home many muscle connections it has compared to the other fingers
@@dylanholderman damnnn... I do know that but damn!!!! I should really need to know more about life, u know.... u kinda woke me up. In a way. Damnnnnñm. I'm lazy. Wtf right?
Good point. Nothing about a T-Rex is unimpressive. They were such a robust and thick animal. Compared to every other theropod, they look like a giant bulldog. Robust is the best way I can put it.
Everyone talkin bout offense, but what about defense? I'd say these probably work much better to defend against attacks made at the T-Rex in this region, perhaps supporting the gash found on the other T-Rex's skull in this video, who likely got that from attacking another T-Rex of course.
Yeah, it's possible ... the chest/belly area would be vulnerable if another dinosaur could get up under them. Just like when dogs or cats fight and will try to go low and get at the chest and belly. Another T-Rex would probably do the same thing and try to attack the belly and legs, and it'd be difficult for the other to bite at the flat of the attacker's back from that position. So I imagine they could start digging at the head and neck of the opponent with those little clawed arms to get them out of that vulnerable area. Just look at the size of those hooked claws ... they are clearly weapons for very close range to deal with threats getting beneath them. And they probably used them in other ways too. Could be that multiple theories are valid, and they used them for mating, too. Not sure if an adult T-Rex could use them to roll over or get back to their feet, but they probably helped juveniles get back up when they fell or were knocked over.
oh so you’re saying the grooves on trex 1 weren’t attacks from trex 2 but more from the defense of trex 2 against the trex 1 who was trying to attack its chest area
@@HenrythePaleoGuy And they wont, so there is not movement involved in the "why so small" debate, check my comment and my theory, you have way more knowledge about dinos than me i would be really glad to hear your opinion about my "weight distribution and growing resources theory" the arms are vestigial in my opinion, but rexies still need them even if they dont use them at all.
Theories: -Holding during “mating” -helping to get up after lying down -holding down prey before biting -not used at all but just a leftover thing which would have disappeared with enough time. Much like the humans vestigial tail.
@@abyssinia4ever I think there are some dinosaur species where the forearms were reduced to the point where just a single finger protrudes from the torso: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linhenykus?wprov=sfla1 I'm not sure about bipedal dinosaurs with no externally visible forelimbs, though.
I've always thought the arms are mainly for children. The arms would be pretty big at first maybe, so the children would use the arms to walk or hang on their mothers and grab food, and provide balance. Their legs, head and tail wouldn't be as big when they're young, which explains the needs of the arms. However, as they grow up, the arms start to not be as useful since everything else is just better. I haven't seen a baby trex skeleton so idk if their arms are relatively bigger to the body than an adult or if it's relatively the same.
based on what I found seems like you’re right, the fossils I saw in he arms are a proportionally good size and it seems they were used in hatching to push themselves out of the egg
My understanding, having suggested a professional paleontologist the same thing, is that the arms were never really of a useful size relative to the rest of the body. Also, this is covered around 6:44.
Has the idea that the arms served a display purpose ever been suggested? I.e., they grew small to facilitate the huge jaw (natural selection), but remained strong and useable in sexual selection. Many contemporary birds exhibit behaviours that are wasteful from a pure survival perspective and for that reason selected for sexually. You could imagine that maybe the arms had bright coloration like red, and kind of display to potential mates "Yeah my arms are so tiny and they can afford to be because I have this massive murdering jaw."
Especially considering that most of the animal’s body was covered in scales, the presence of brilliant display feathers would be increasingly more apparent. Then shed them at the close of each breeding season to aid in hunting again. It’s not the worst idea ever.
I agree with the sexual selection. Consider Kangaroos who have extremely muscular arms, and Cobras who during selection battle for mating rites without venom. Suppose the arms were for some sort of rutting, similar to Bovines, charging and pushing for dominance but not a fatality? Neck to neck, they could not bite but the arms could slash until one "bull" would concede defeat?
@@bobbymobay They do have evidence of face biting so maybe its a bit more violent, though outright battling to the death over mates considering the power behind the jaws makes it unlikely, maybe the bites occur when fights escalate and would stop around then to avoid fatality. I always liked the idea rexes could push against one another in a sumo stance like a godzilla movie.
I saw a video talking about that theory applied to Carnotaurus. Since their arms are essentially nubs, them being brightly colored could’ve been used for a mix of sexual selection and general communication, like a flightless bird flapping it’s wings in order to convey a message
Since it seems that a wide variety of dinosaurs did indeed have feathers, I've often wondered if maybe the T-Rex might have possessed a set of display feathers of some kind, attached to those little arms. Perhaps utilized by males for courtship purposes, to impress the ladies. Also, possibly to intimidate, and warn away other males as well, as an alternative to risky physical altercations. I could be wrong, but if I'm right, then those feathers could've conceivably been longer than the arms, themselves. On the males, they could've been longer, and more colorful, and the extensive musculature of those arms could've actually been used to tighten, and relax, the quills in order to cause those feathers to open, and fan out dramatically. Arm position would've almost certainly played a role in that as well. Look at how modern birds behave. It seems totally reasonable to me that T-Rex males may well have had a complex courtship ritual that involved (their version of) dancing, and dramatic, and colorful display, in order to win a mate. Like the Birds of Paradise. If I'm right, then that would mean that those tiny, little arms were not useless, or vestigial at all, and actually DID serve a purpose. Who knows? Just a thought. CHEERS! 🍻✌
I think scaley skin impressions have been found with T-Rex skeletons, but that doesn't mean that they couldn't have arm feathers. Just probably not full body feathers. Probably.
Also, think of how fucking scary that would be as T-Rex prey. All of a sudden, this ginormous apex predator charges out from the jungle at 40 miles an hour, spreading its wings in a colorful display. If you're something like a triceratops, do you stand your ground against this thing twice as wide as you? Or do you turn tail and run?
@@nekrataali, That's a good point! I hadn't even considered the possible effect, or usefulness, of that kind of display, when used upon prey animals. They might've even been able to utilize it to herd groups of animals in the direction they wanted. Like, towards other, larger members of their family group, laying in wait, to ambush whatever is being driven their way. 🍻✌
If the arms were covered with plumage, they could have been utilized to keep the eggs warm as they crouched over them and or to move them if necessary to safer places. They may have also been used to dig small ditches for their egg clutches. Overall, an aid for nesting.
I seriously doubt the digging, but, since I prefer to think of dinosaurs mostly being feathered (even if they're the most primitive type of feathers), using the arms that way makes some sense.
It's amazing how big creatures once were on earth, I can only imagine some of the weird creatures that currently exist on unknown planets they'd probably seem like monsters to us.
Earth's creatures are foreign and alien even to us, especially underwater creatures. That alone is scary enough to imagine what other planet would hold for creatures anatomy. Maybe would be similar to earth, just heavily adopted to survive the planet's atmosphere.
@@GothicDragonX like one of Jupiter’s moons (forgot which one) was discovered to have liquid water heated by geysers. Very, very possible for bacteria to be there, and maybe even proper creatures. Actually, quite likely.
If you look up a computer Scientist named Stephan Wolfram, he has a fundamental theory of everything (that i believe really is the true theory of everything) that posits that the universe is fundamentally computational (like a giant Turing machine) With that theory, comes the idea that things in the world build themselves based on exploring the number of possible configurations that can exist. Wolfram asserts that, even though life evolved on planet Earth by way of carbon, there may be planets where life does not come from just carbon...because the axiom systems that can be built from more elementary constituents can give different branches of possible higher level constituents... Like for example, you can imagine that if complex molecules could be made from Gold atomic interactions, complex enough for self assembly, than systems that emerges from those configurations would be based on those physical properties...and those systems might be complex enough to be considered alive. So Wolfram's theory points to the idea that life maybe be not just alien...but possibly unrecognizable as what we think of as "life." Because these configurations might not even be...organic in any real sense. They might be complex and feature intelligence...but we might not be able to even recognize it as intelligence that we can figure out. You can imagine an example like how clouds move in the atmosphere and generate patterns. We don't attribute the weather as being intelligent or conscious, but it is doing something that is complex.
They should study smaller specimens, because they would have needed to hunt when they were smaller and their jaws wouldn't have been the superior weapon it is when they grow large. It seems the most plausible explanation to me.
Thats way nanotyranus has longer arms than adult rexies, and i bet the younger the rex, the longer the arms, till the jaw becomes wide and strong the dinos need more help to finish the job, and a good pair of arms is a wise choice.
Totally agree and also with Jarry! As we know that Theropod Dinosaurs changes their shape and also their feeding system during livetime dramatically - it would make sense that in the first decade or so the arms are fitting perfekt to their very much smaller prey and it seems at this age the arms also appears more "proportional" to the animal. Due to lack of fossiles of young T-Rex there is of course a focus on the fully grown animal in their last years. Maybe a hormon switches off the growing of the arms in a certain age as they are useless now for a 6 ton, 11 m killing machine with a jaw full of banana size teeths! ;)
I always thought it was like how we have a tailbone. It's just easier for evolution to keep it around since it's not hurting anything. But I'll absolutely entertain some of these other hypothesis! Great video
I think study of tyrannosaur ontogeny has been highly suggestive that their arms were more important to juvenile and "teenage" tyrannosaurs, since they didn't yet have the massively powerful bites of adults - in fact, if Jane and the Cleveland skull are juvenile T. Rex as suspected, they're overall a lot more gracile, even proportionately, than adults. Young tyrannosaurs seem to be built to almost hunt like dromaeosaurs, seeing as their proportions look built for running, not marathon walking like adults. (Again, all this assumes that the Jane is a juvenile T. Rex hypothesis is valid - she's almost definitely a juvenile *something*, at any rate)
Then why do crocks not habe longer legs when young? I dnt think this is true the animal is wise to prey size and would no were and what to hunt and for all we know they were never hunting young they may have been rasied untill there at least adolescents we dnt know so we 😂
@@kekaharris6618 Crocs aren't dinosaurs, first off. While they are archosaurs, they are more distantly related than birds. Secondly, we have direct evidence of other dinosaurs changing pretty radically in proportions as they grow up, and those other dinosaurs are more closely related to tyrannosaurs than crocs (See, Triceratops, Pachycephalosaurus). Further it's increasingly better supported that Jane is a juvenile T. Rex, making nanotyrannus an invalid genus, and her arms are, proportionally, long enough to be pretty useful indeed - they're similar relative to her body to Utahraptor, which uncontroversially used its arms for stuff. These other dinosaurs mentioned above look so different as juveniles that the juveniles and subadults were thought to be entirely different species until relatively recently.
Again, *the dominant reason* the *Tyrannosaurs' Forelimbs* remained useful was because it served as a means of counterbalance; to revector itself while walking, bending down to eat, or even in combat, etc. Another way to think of it: imagine walking on a beam, and how as humans we use our arms to act as a stabilizer or counterbalance. rph
I literally consume an entire bottle of zesty Italian dressing daily, assuming that the bucket of t-rex wings are fried, it probably wouldn't be the best combination but YOLO
They could be used to move the eggs around, in a electric hatcher the eggs are rolled every one hour, the chicken also move they eggs once in a while so the embryo don't stay in just one position, with they massive feet they could break the eggs, so the arms could be useful for that.
The most plausible theory seems to be the mating one, because using the powerful jaws to hold onto a mate might cause significant damage as compared to using thr tiny arms. Also they couldve served a purpose in the juvenile phase, where the bite would not have been as powerful, so the arms couldve played a role in survival during those younger ages.
Thank you I was saying it for ages Also I have a theory that they were like peacocks they would flex there arms and the one with the strongest gets the females
@@mahmoudanas6220 that actually makes sense now that im thinking about it. Mating rituals and even the creation of nests would be a very logical reason for such limbs
Again, *the dominant reason* the *Tyrannosaurs' Forelimbs* remained useful was because it served as a means of counterbalance; to revector itself while walking, bending down to eat, or even in combat, etc. Another way to think of it: imagine walking on a beam, and how as humans we use our arms to act as a stabilizer or counterbalance. rph
Thank you a lot for writing artist's names when showing their art. I discovered a lot of really talented people just from this video. I myself always believed that they simply didn't need to use them, considering how strong their jaws and legs are
Again, *the dominant reason* the *Tyrannosaurs' Forelimbs* remained useful was because it served as a means of counterbalance; to revector itself while walking, bending down to eat, or even in combat, etc. Another way to think of it: imagine walking on a beam, and how as humans we use our arms to act as a stabilizer or counterbalance. rph
I'm listening to these theories on what Tyrannosaur's forelimbs were actually used for, and they really don't sound especially contradictory. There's no reason not to assume they weren't used for a variety of purposes, though admittedly limited in flexibility and by their scale to the rest of the dinosaur
I became curious because of the new Jurassic World trailer and after reading/watching a ton of articles the conclusion I got is that they didn't really need it. They can use the arm for some stuff (mating, slashing etc), but that's it. In the end, it's even more funny knowing that in my opinion.
I subscribe more to the notion that the arms are a genetic leftover from a species that the Tyrannosaur had evolved from. This is much like how Whales have what can only be described as Hand and Feet bones in their fins and tail respectively despite being aquatic creatures. Those arms could’ve been more versatile back when the predecessor species existed, being used for all the things listed in the above video. However, as time passed, the Tyrannosaur decided to prioritize its fighting/hunting into its jaw. By the Late Cretaceous period, those arms could only be used for mating.
That would make total sense. And if we discovered whale fossils for the first time we'd be like, why would an aquatic creature have hands and feet? How would it swim?
Lol, yeah man, t Rex’s just decided to get better jaws in exchange for small arms. I can’t believe people unironically believe evolution when it says ridiculous things like that.
@@gentlemancharmander4411 they didn’t decide, maybe learn how evolution works before criticizing it. It was just not a hinderance to have smaller and smaller arms due to all of their other extremely powerful attributes.
Man, what I wouldn't give to have a window to look at the past with. I wanna see what these looked like and how they moved, and what kind of environment they lived in.
Again, *the dominant reason* the *Tyrannosaurs' Forelimbs* remained useful was because it served as a means of counterbalance; to revector itself while walking, bending down to eat, or even in combat, etc. Another way to think of it: imagine walking on a beam, and how as humans we use our arms to act as a stabilizer or counterbalance. rph
@@johnhackett6332 I'm not talking about the arms in particular anymore, I'm just saying I wanna see it happen with a live specimen. I wanna see with my own eyes what they looked like when they were alive just because that would be amazing.
@@pablo-z5e unfortunately, time travel is more than likely impossible, if not highly regulated. The simple concept of us thinking of time travel makes it impossible. If you told yourself and your descendants to come back to now whenever time travel was possible to let you know it can happen, you'd be talking to one of your progeny right now
“Hi would you like to talk to me about dinosaurs? No?” *hangs up phone, crosses out name in phone book* *redials* “Hi, would YOU like to talk to me about dinosaurs?” 🤣🤣
While the back legs are obviously huge, maybe this creature was more of a swimmer than a walker. The world was a lot wetter and a lot of their diet swam. Big tail like an alligator was a propeller. Big back feet like a duck's were paddles. No, no idea what the front were for. Just the perspective that they might have swam as much as they stood.
I always kinda thought T-rex arms were actually wings like an emu but now that I look at it ....Isn't it kinda of similar to a kangaroo?🦘🦖🦘🦖 Short arms, strong thick legs and long thick tail? They did say that the leg could be in more of a squat position so what if they were more upright? I think they look kinda similar but I know fuck all about dinosaurs 😅
I’m pretty sure those forearms were essentially useless for helping to get up. But I bet those little arms were powerful when needed, holding prey or mates. Moles have short arms too, but the bone structure & muscle attachments greatly facilitate making their arms quite powerful. Those T. rex forearm bones appear to have some bulk to them to just be vestigial.
I agree. I remember seeing a picture in an old book on dinosaurs that I had as a kid that showed an Allosaur grabbing an Iguanodont with its arms while biting down on its neck. I can imagine a T. rex (and other Tyrannosaurs) doing something similar with Hadrosaurs. I could see them leading with their head and taking a big bite out of a Hadrosaur to cripple or at least slow it down and it would then close in, grab a hold with its arms and deal a killing bite.
To hold something with your arms, you need to be able to move them, do sharks use their fins to hold their prey? Big jaws doesnt need arms ;), moles arms have a hard work to do, so they need that power. Small vestigial features always means the need of invest growing resources in other places, with more time to evolve, rexies will transform all the bone and muscle from the arms and shoulders in just pure chest muscle to help the head compensate the tail, yes, not the tail compensating the head, cause at the time they become extinct the tail was compensating both the weight of the head and upper body, they could have also evolved in a thinner tail dino and lose almost all the upperbody structure so the tail keeps being the balancing part of the body (as it usually is) but it ill make them weaker maybe... Take of all the flesh, muscle and bone attached to the small bulky arms and your T-Rex standard will go back to the 1900 to be accurate ;)
@@Birdman32 Actually, having large arms would weigh them down and make it impossible to stand upright with their gigantic heads. So uh, nah, still peak performance.
Think about it. Logically, they couldn't use them in the thought process of evolution. I personally like the theory that they were more ostrich like. Bent the opposite way with feathers rather than scales.
I feel that too, makes a lot of sense after discovering that some actually had feathers/proto-feathers (reason being that when excavating they dgaf about anything other than the bones, thus destroying all the surrounding possibly surrounding tissues, etc...)
Feathers and scales are arguably sort of the same thing, kinda. The scales on birb (which are therapods themselves), specifically on their feet, are a sort of specialized feather, in addition to the two types we normally think about.
The mating theory is interesting, I never thought of that. My guess would be that they used them for dissection of prey. Their mouth is pretty big and I’d imagine they couldn’t manipulate prey with much accuracy, so I’m guessing they used the arms to pull things off or out of a carcass to make eating quicker and easier. They’d want to eat quickly because they’d be more exposed since it doesn’t look like they would take prey home to safety, they probably just eat prey where it fell and leave what they didn’t eat. That would explain why they’re strong, since they would likely need to pull out big muscles to eat or break bones like the ribs to get to a lot of the edible stuff, and if they’re already up close to the animal to eat it, the arms don’t need to be long. I could also see them as a deterrent, if anything was going to attack them from the front, the chest and neck would be the obvious targets, so maybe the arms were there to deter an attack because they were likely still strong and could badly wound something that managed to get past the jaws. I think they were used for multiple things rather than just one purpose.
So, there is evidence that they could manipulate prey pretty decently, in that there is evidence of prey that had it's meat scraped off the bone, and then those bones flipped over, and scraped again. The front teeth were specifically good at scraping, and of a slightly different style than the side teeth, it's a whole thing. We can tell the specifics of this incident because we can tell the direction they were scraped and the the specific dental profile matched on both sides, so clearly only the top front teeth were in use, not the top and bottom teeth. Something like that anyways. Also worth mentioning a bit of a joke about different academic fields. When an anthropologist or archaeologist encounters something they can't adequately explain, they say it has ritualistic purposes. When a zoologist encounters something they can't adequately explain, they say it has mating purposes.
Excellent video. It made me imagine a person going back in time to see a T-Rex only to realize that our funny caricature of their 'useless arms' is nothing compared to the potential hellish reality of the tyrannosaurus using these arms to rip and slash an animal apart.
Those were either: 1) used as toothpicks (taking into account the gap between the beast's teeth and the frequent times chunks of meat could have stuck there); 2) (more hypothetical) they were covered with fancy feathers and swung in unknown ways to display for mating.
You mentioned them having the strength to carry a deer. I've heard before that T-Rex's likely scavenged as well as hunted. If they were to carry off a piece off a meat after being scared away from a carcass by a rival or aggressive herbivore, I see no reason why it couldn't use its arms as well as its mouth. Idk the real practicality of that.
@@youTube0909b see that's what I always pictured them doing but what if they were carrying a sneaky side dish as well you know, like if it's feasible then why not I guess. Also it would leave them able to keep something if they had to drop what's in their mouth to attack or defend. I truly don't know and am not qualified to talk about it further but it's interesting.
@@lucasstokes503 If we bring the idea of a singular, immobile nest, into the conversation, bringing back food for the young who are a ways off from being able to hunt on their own makes sense.
The theory that their usefulness would change with age could make sense, triceratops go through several phases in their cranial bones, so distinct between each other that paleontologists thought they were different species..
I always thought the arms were for tearing open a meal after it was felled , helpless and/or dead. I figured it could tear open a carcass while still keeping it's eyes up for other threats to it or it's meal. I remember reading somewhere T-Rex's would hunt each other for food or to ambush a kill.
I like to imagine they use there arms to slap each other during mating season. Like they only just used there arms. Trying to slap each other with there little arms. Hilarious.
Great! Same here as well. Especially with the manual claw scratch mark evidence. That was especially cool to find out. They are also such cool animals to draw.
It’s amazing that we have mostly all the same parts! These are our ancestors that paved the way for DNA & intelligence over millions of years, basically built our minds, and our bodies!
I've often wondered if anyone has looked into "display" options on some dinosaurs. Like the peacock or birds of paradise, even some lizards, is it possible the arms were points of connection for skin flaps or large feathers or something that could be used in courtship rituals or threat displays and activated by arm movement? Also on a more random note, i don't see how we would know if some dinosaurs had specialized features similar to tentacles or elephant trunks or even things we've never imagined.
Display is plausible, but the fact the hand stayed functional suggests that they weren't just for display - look at Carnotaurus and its relatives for what happens to hands that no longer serve any purpose related to their function as, well, hands.
@@Harrier42861 i'm sure there were other uses. Even if it was just for mating or gaining balance faster if they got knocked over, which seem most plausible to me.
Again, *the dominant reason* the *Tyrannosaurs' Forelimbs* remained useful was because it served as a means of counterbalance; to revector itself while walking, bending down to eat, or even in combat, etc. Another way to think of it: imagine walking on a beam, and how as humans we use our arms to act as a stabilizer or counterbalance. rph
My theory: they were used to defend their necks during fights with other T-Rexes. That last theory in the video with the grooves found on the front of skulls of the same species seem to be the only actual evidence of their use.
This would make more sense. The Arms likely were used in response to protection from other rex's or large to medium sized predators that likely tried to reach under the neck. If the head can't reach the arms can. They may have also been used for mating, display, and courting purposes. I could see adult rex's using the arms to push the heads of other rex's away they only just need to push the head not the body.
Again, *the dominant reason* the *Tyrannosaurs' Forelimbs* remained useful was because it served as a means of counterbalance; to revector itself while walking, bending down to eat, or even in combat, etc. Another way to think of it: imagine walking on a beam, and how as humans we use our arms to act as a stabilizer or counterbalance. rph
Well, I always thought they were simply vestigial, but the robustness of the bone structure and muscle attachment, plus the two-fingered scars on their facial bones threw that theory of mine right out the window.
No I don't think so given that the Arms technically were still in use of some form. The Carno's on the other hand were clearly starting to lose theres and would more correctly be seen as in the middle of evolution of losing them.
Why is the obvious answer never talked about? The large oversized feet, and monstrously dangerous mouth were not useful in a very important Tyrannosaur Function. Their smaller arms were perfect for nest management.
You do realize it would be fumbling around blindly with those arms. The feet and nose are fine for nest management. We also don't know what kind of nest management was even necessary. Turning eggs may be necessary for modern birds, but for reptiles, it's fatal.
It would seem that the arms were bigger in proportion when the animals were only partially grown and would be quite useful then, but did not grow with the body as it reached adult size, since the arms were no longer needed much.
Again, *the dominant reason* the *Tyrannosaurs' Forelimbs* remained useful was because it served as a means of counterbalance; to revector itself while walking, bending down to eat, or even in combat, etc. Another way to think of it: imagine walking on a beam, and how as humans we use our arms to act as a stabilizer or counterbalance. rph
i always assumed they used their arms for more gentle tasks like fixing the eggs in their nest into the best spot of just general things that have to do with their eggs
Thick bones, tough claws, and developed tendoins and muscles on these arms clearly indicate their functional, everyday use, while the size indicates a more "passive" use for tasks that could not be done with those humongous feet. As a personal theory - they were used for eating and carrying carcasses.
@@NoTv10 even if a complete arm has never been found, we can know how it would be laid out by the bone shapes (small humerus, shape of the wrist bones, separation of the radius and ulna) we know that it has individual digits and flexible wrists on the forelimbs, unlike birds that have fused digits and forearms for stability in flight
@@snitchbug That's some strong imagination. If all of you guys convened at one location, we'd know all there is to know about dinosaurs. No, scratch that, y'all are already, too, good at this, we just have to give you a fancy title and call you an expert- surely then, you can give the magnificent tyrannosaurus wings.
The arms are used for when laying there head/throat onto the ground. During mating the low vibration of trex can be heard for miles. Could also be used as Warning to other predators in the area
I think they were used to claw their way out of the egg, then occasionally used for mating. Maybe had long feathers to help keep warm and used in mating dances.
I think they were really just to prevent rivals or prey from going for the chest. Think about it; without them they would be wide open. I doubt the head could more quickly enough to parry a hit.
Again, *the dominant reason* the *Tyrannosaurs' Forelimbs* remained useful was because it served as a means of counterbalance; to revector itself while walking, bending down to eat, or even in combat, etc. Another way to think of it: imagine walking on a beam, and how as humans we use our arms to act as a stabilizer or counterbalance. rph
That’s exactly what I just commented, they’d be wide open from the neck to the stomach for any prey smaller than it, which was basically all of them, if they had no arms
The mouth of this species is something awesome. The entire structure seems to be evolved to be used as a kind of trap for animals. Once something is grabbed by those jaws, nothing can escape. But I heard that, potentially, Tyrannosaurus Rex was also quite intelligent and well suited for being a simple reptile. Binocular view, extraordinary olfact sense, maybe even the ability to hunt in packs. I can imagine that if the family of this species was able to continue to live, smaller creatures would have been able to develop intelligence too, maybe even before the dromaesauridae too.
They're also always drawn with near zero body fat. They would have likely been fatter and fluffier, like a chicken. And they're had feathers, like a chicken. It's entirely possible their arms were covered in plumage to attract mates
They didnt have feathers and they're not birds eithers, there are alot of lies so dont believe any so called "experts" since they make shit up as they go along. Heck they form a whole dinosaur over one BONE, that should say alot.
I would have liked to have heard information regarding a comparative analysis of skeletons from different periods. I wonder if these weren’t vestigial, and they weren’t losing them? One wonders if the evidence points to reduction in length from one millennia to another?
Your last question needs rewording. Not even if you had an eternity would you be able to perform this kind of analysis. It's just a business, not actual science.
I read a theory that since a lot of dinosaurs had feathers instead of scales, if you turn the arms backwards, it would make more sense for their tiny arms to be wings. Cool idea.
Well, we know it for a fact because we have fossil evidence of dinosaurs with feathers intact, namely from a specific formation in China. We can even tell some of the colours. Knowing that, we also know that there is evidence of feathers in the bones themselves, the feathers leave little holes in the bone. Scales and feathers are also a related thing, the scales on a birb's foot are a type of feather. Also, if you compare the bones of a therapod arm and a birb arm, they work out to be similar in a number of ways, no need to put anything backwards. Partially because birbs ARE therapods, the family of dinosaurs that raptors and tyrannosaurs are in. There is evidence birbs were around at the time of the extinction actually, and there is a theory that raptors were in fact within the birb group within the therapods, but we don't have enough evidence to really decide that. So, picture this, bend your elbow so that your thumb and top of your wrist is near your shoulder. Then turn your wrist down so that your fingers point towards the ground. Bit of a zed shape. That is how a birb's wing is, at least for the parrot behind me and every chicken, goose, duck, or turkey I have eaten. That is also not too far from how a t-rex arm is, different wrist assembly that limits the range of motion and the ability to have the hands with any facing aside from clapping, but broadly there.
Plot twist: the archeologists placed the skeleton wrong and the legs are in the front and the tiny arms are in the back to help pull out the humongous shit to come out
love the video, though I will say that it could use a de-esser on the narration, the "s"s are too sharp to be pleasant and a de-esser would soften them a little
Seems perfect for holding on to tails and bodies while they rip parts off. I would guess most pray would be running away so grabbing a tail could help a lot in catching them and unbalancing.
The chest defense, that makes sense. They're probably still as big as a well-trained man's arms. Also, you should try to get up without using your arms. Without having anything near the chest, you're going to get nowhere (at least I didn't). Third thing I can think of is carrying a small object such as an egg.
