For many people, the Tyrannosaurus Rex (T-Rex) is a creature of wonderment and curiosity, for it seems so much like fantasy with how much it looks like the dragons in fairy tales. However, the creature also excites a part of us that likes to think that there was an apex predator on our planet millions of years before our ancestors took their first steps. All of this and more has led to millions of humans wondering about all the different aspects of the prehistoric creature, and other creatures like it that lived whole eras before primates became a sub-order of animals.
One thing that always sticks out about the T-Rex is its iconic short arms that look so minuscule in comparison to its overwhelmingly large bodies. However, a new theory for their short stature has come to the light because of a team of scientists uncovering new material and pieces of evidence in Argentina. The team found the remains of a new species, now known as Meraxes Gigas while doing their field research. This discovery has massive impacts on the previously held knowledge of the T-Rex.
The Meraxes Gigas was approximately 36ft (11m) long and had a 4ft skull, but its arms were only 2 feet long. The team of scientists believes that the arms gave the carnivorous predator an advantage in its hunts and in its survival. The team strongly believes that the arms were essential to the success of this creature, and that implies that other creatures with similar bodily structures received the same benefits. This would also apply to the T-Rex because of its similar body structure.
The arms of Meraxes Gigas were shown to have powerful muscles and fully developed pectoral girdles. This means that the arms were most likely of use too, unlike other theories that suggest they were just used for counterweight. One use hypothesized for the arms would be for mating, for scientists believe that the male could have used its strong arms to hold the female while they mated. However, it was 100% likely that the creature or any creature with similar arms wouldn’t be able to use their arms to feed themselves because the arms were usually half the size of the skull.
Because the arms were so small, the team of scientists believed that the skull would do most of the work, such as catching prey and moving objects.
The scientists came up with the name ‘Meraxes Gigas’ from a fictional dragon in the Game of Thrones book series, and it belonged to the carcharodontosaurids or shark-toothed lizards. Also, the creature lived approximately 90-100 million years ago, so scientists believe that the creature could be connected (ancestor of) to tyrannosaurids and abelisaurids who also developed small arms for possibly the same reasons as the Meraxes Gigas.
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