Why T. Rex Couldn't Waggle Its Tongue
Scientists were in for a surprise after peering inside the mouths of modern alligators and birds.
You might be surprised by what dinosaur tongues can teach you.
By comparing the small bones that stabilize the tongue from dinosaur fossils to those of modern birds and crocodilians, researchers found that most dinosaurs, including the Tyrannosaurus Rex, wouldn’t have been able to move their tongues very much. In the paper, published on Wednesday in PLOS ONE, researchers liken the tongues of most dinosaurs to those of alligators, which are firmly attached to the floor of the mouth.
This means that when you see a dinosaur roaring on the big screen, and spit is flying off of a long tongue that’s lifted up and sticking out between those huge, menacing jaws, you can turn to your neighbor and say, “You
