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Picture yourself being chased by a cannibal with a giant head and a huge tail swinging it behind as a counterbalance. Yes, that's a tyrannosaurus that's after you! (Of course, you'd be dreaming, since we all know the T. rex is extinct.) The recent burst of stories about this animal in my Google reader have inspired me to blog about some recent T. rex findings.
Anatomy
 Discoveries have shown that T. rex had a huge head. In fact, it's believed the T. rex could eat 500 pounds in one bite. But size didn't seem to have kept the animal from moving fast. A University of Alberta student compared the tails of crocodiles and Komodo dragons with that of a T. rex and discovered that the biggest muscles of their big tails attached to the upper leg bones. This provides a swinging-motion for propelling the animal forward.
It's also thought that previous researchers underestimated how much muscle a T. rex's tail had – by as much as 45%. A speedier T. rex means that the animal might not have been just a scavenger, but also a hunter.
 Diet = Own Species?
T. rex was big and T. rex was hungry. Many modern-day carnivores are cannibals, including lions, polar bears, and alligators; according to dinosaur discoveries, this behavior is nothing new. Several T. rex fossils have been discovered with huge tooth marks featuring gouges that could have only been made by an eight-inch long T.rex tooth. Since T. rex was the only big carnivore known in western North America during its time, it's pretty likely it was eating its own kind.
It's tough to say whether the gouges came from scavenging or fights. If the gouges came from fighting, it's likely that the victorious T. rex ate its victim.
Downfall
While eating each other could bring down the size of a species, cannibalism likely didn't lead to T. rex's extinction. In 2009, a study was published that focused on a fossil named 'Sue.' The bones of her jaw contain holes that could be battle scars, or maybe the result of a parasitic infection.
The infection, called trichomonosis, is an avian parasite that causes a similar problem in birds – typically raptors. The infection affects the mouth and throat and can leave  an animal unable to eat, which means that the specimen could have starved to death. Scientists are now examining other specimens for evidence of the same disease.
Read more about dinosaurs on the Animal Science blog.
Resources:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101115131127.htm
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/prehistoric/tyrannosaurus-rex/
http://news.discovery.com/dinosaurs/tyrannosaurus-rex-cannibal.html
http://www.news.wisc.edu/17148
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrannosaurus [images]
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