Tyrannosaurus (Photo : Reuters)
Tyrannosaurus, contrary to what has been believed for years, are not just predators- they are also cannibals, scavengers and fighters. A new study revealed that Daspletosaurus, a smaller cousin of Tyrannosaurus, had skull injuries which were most likely caused by another Daspletosaurus, PeerJ Journal published.
The injuries were noted to have been inflicted before and after the beast's death. Most of the cuts were close in shape and size to that of a Tyrannosaur's teeth. The dinosaur's remains were from Alberta, Canada and has not grown fully.
The gashes on the beast clearly showed that it went through a tough, suffering life evidenced by the presence of injuries across its head. The lead scientists, Dr. David Hone of London's Queen Mary University, verified that the closest candidate to have inflicted it is another Daspletosaurus, implying that a few serious fights occurred throughout its life span.
Daspletosaurus, though a large animal, was considerably smaller than its more popular relative Tyrannosaurus; however, both species thrived in Canada. Just like its cousin, it scavenged, hunted, and became prey to other larger members of the family.
Scientists were able to find circular holes suggesting that those were from a predator that was either a Tyrannosaurus or another Daspletosaurus. While its skull had injuries across it, every single one did not show proofs of bites.
In history, dinosaurs have been known for its combatting and cannibalistic characteristics, but this research provided evidences that a single animal could undergo both post-mortem and pre-mortem injuries.
