23
Feb
Which choice best describes data from the table that support Barrett and Rayfield’s suggestion?
Estimates of Tyrannosaurid Bite Force
| Study | Year | Estimation method | Approximate bite force (newtons) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost et al. | 2019 | muscular and skeletal modeling | 35,000–63,000 |
| Gignac and Erickson | 2017 | tooth-bone interaction analysis | 8,000–34,000 |
| Meers | 2002 | body-mass scaling | 183,000–235,000 |
| Bates and Falkingham | 2012 | muscular and skeletal modeling | 35,000–57,000 |
The largest tyrannosaurids—the family of carnivorous dinosaurs that includes Tarbosaurus, Albertosaurus, and, most famously, Tyrannosaurus rex—are thought to have had the strongest bites of any land animals in Earth’s history. Determining the bite force of extinct animals can be difficult, however, and paleontologists Paul Barrett and Emily Rayfield have suggested that an estimate of dinosaur bite force may be significantly influenced by the methodology used in generating that estimate.
