Whether I’m on the radio, giving a public talk, or in conversation, one question about dinosaurs follows me almost everywhere I go – was Tyrannosaurus rex a mighty hunter or a lowly scavenger? I try to suppress my immediate urge to roll my eyes and despondently sigh whenever the query turns up. I’m not aggravated by the asker, but by the fact that a twenty year old non-debate has continued to create the impression of genuine controversy. The miscomprehension got another boost in the journal PNAS this week.

Such damage, dePalma and colleagues rightly conclude, was probably caused by a failed attempt to take down the hadrosaur. The tyrannosaur bit the herbivore’s tail, but the victim wrenched away with such force