Researchers may have solved mystery of why the T rex had tiny arms

Environment
20 May 2026 • 3:33 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Researchers may have solved mystery of why the T rex had tiny arms

  • A new study suggests that the tiny arms of large meat-eating dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus rex, are linked to the development of their powerful heads and jaws.
  • Researchers found that the head became the primary weapon for hunting, replacing the role of forelimbs in subduing prey.
  • This evolutionary shift coincided with the increasing size of prey, including gigantic long-necked sauropod dinosaurs.
  • The study quantified skull robustness, finding a strong correlation between reduced forelimb size and the strength of the skull, with T. rex scoring highest.
  • Scientists concluded that the reduction in forelimb size was a result of their redundancy in prey capture, as powerful bites and robust skulls took over.

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