Healed scars tag T. rex as predator
By Sid Perkins
From St. Paul, Minn., at a meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
Although Tyrannosaurus rex has a reputation as a fierce predator, the evidence to back up that notoriety has been both rare and debatable. Now, a fossil Triceratops skull with healed bone scars may compel paleontologists to give T. rex its due.
Previously, all of the gnaw marks on bones that have positively identified T. rex as the chewer have shown no sign of healing, says John W. Happ of Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va. It’s impossible to tell whether those traces are signs of predation or scavenging. A healed wound would indicate that the intended victim got away from a predator, Happ notes.