[PDF] Bite-force estimation for Tyrannosaurus rex from tooth-marked bones | Semantic Scholar

The intramandibular jaw joint is described and the first completely preserved and fused supradentary/coronoid bones in three different tyrannosaurids are found, leading to a rigid lower jaw in tyrannosaurusids that is a secondary specialization for a powerful crushing bite.

Finite–element–generated stress–strain patterns are consistent with T. rex cranial morphology: the maxilla–jugal suture provides a tensile shock– absorption function that reduces localized tension yet ‘weakens’ the skull overall.

It is shown that bone pulverization was made possible through a combination of prodigious bite forces and tooth pressures promoting crack propagation in bones, and repetitive, localized biting, which allowed T. rex to finely fragment bones and more fully exploit large dinosaur carcasses for sustenance relative to competing carnivores.