Size doesn’t matter. Or maybe it does. If someone says
you’re a dinosaur in bed, that might not be a bad thing. According to a new
study, Tyrannosaurus Rex may actually have been a “sensitive” lover.
This
bizarre new theory was spawned in large part by the discovery of a new member
of the tyrannosaur family, Daspletosaurus horneri, or “Horner’s frightful
lizard.” Unusually well-preserved fossils of the beast, which lived
approximately 74 million years ago and was somewhat smaller than T. Rex, were
recently discovered in Montana. The most striking aspect of the discovery was
the animals “face.” After analyzing the find, scientists now believe the
dinosaur and other tyrannosaurs- including mighty T. rex- wore a mask of large,
flat scales, with regions of tough and protective armor-like skin around the
snout and jaws. They further believe that the hard surface around the snout
contained a great many “foramina,” or small nerve endings, essentially turning the
dinosaur’s face into a remarkably sensitive “third hand.”
Professor
Jayc Sedimayr of Louisiana State University, the study’s co-author, stated that
the animal’s snoot harbored “a complex sensory web.”
Indeed,
experts aver that T. rex used its tactile and sensuous schnoz to investigate
its surroundings, build nests, delicately pick up fragile eggs, and, probably,
to turn itself and its partners on.
In the
journal Scientific Reports, the
researchers wrote: “In courtship, tyrannosaurids might have rubbed their
sensitive faces together as a vital part of pre-copulatory play.”
So, the
fearsome, 20-foot-tall carnivore with the bulky body and 9-inch-long teeth likely
spent much of its time roaming around trying to get its muzzle nuzzled? The
ferocious fossil engaged in “pre-copulatory play?”
Who knew? Surely the sensuous, saucy, fore-play loving lizard and its
passionate proboscis should be featured in a romance novel or maybe even an
adult film, no?
“My,
what a big nose you have…”
“The
better to _______ you with!”
Coming
Soon: “Jurassic Park: After Dark”
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