The T-Rex's Mouth Is Even Scarier Than You Thought

The tyrannosaurus rex was originally believed to be the biggest threat in the Cretaceous period, only to suffer massive embarrassment when scientists discovered its tiny arms. It then reclaimed the throne when it was featured prominently in Jurassic Park, only to later be re-dethroned by some buzzkilling scientists who pointed out that it was probably just a scavenger, not a cool deadly hunter.

Now T-Rex is back on the top of the "things to worry about if you accidentally time travel" pile again, since we've learned that it may have been able to open its jaws up to an 80-degree angle.

This crazy feat gave the T-rex (and other carnivorous dinosaurs) a maximized bite force, allowing its jaw to bite through flesh and cartilage, and even to crush the bones of its prey. Herbivorous dinosaurs, on the other hand, had a bite range limited to about 45 degrees, mainly because the plants they ate were not the shape and size of a bleating triceratops. Human jaws also top out at around 45 degrees, since we've evolved to cut/cook our food and no longer need the insane bite velocity of Earth's raddest meat-eaters.

The best T-Rexes are still the inflatable suit ones.

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