Overview
- The peer-reviewed study, published Tuesday in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, examined 82 theropod species and found five independent cases of forelimb shortening.
- Researchers report a stronger link between short arms and skull robusticity, a measure of skull strength and bite power, than with overall body or skull size.
- A new skull-strength metric placed T. rex first for bite force, with the South American giant Tyrannotitan next.
- The team argues that growing herbivore prey likely pushed some predators to rely on jaws over claws and notes the results show correlation, not proven cause.
- Patterns varied by lineage, with abelisaurids such as Majungasaurus shortening parts past the elbow while tyrannosaurids shrank whole arms proportionally, and Carnotaurus had the tiniest forearms.