Re: Tyrannosaurus had most powerful bite of any land animal

[Augusto Haro <augustoharo@gmail.com>]

You're right, but the first link included comparison with the bite of
the white shark.

Jaime's point on the enhanced need of force in opening or closing the
jaws because of water viscosity is good, and makes me wonder if that
has something to do with the relatively strong jaw musculature in
crocodiles compared to other groups of tetrapods (I do not know about
whales), or the preference for suction feeding in many
actinopterygians and some other aquatic vertebrates (in part to avoid
being over-muscled, or because the viscosity of water much slows a
biting movement which is not good when catching fast prey). The long
and narrow jaws of many crocodilians may be another way to avoid
displacing a large volume of water. I wonder if the downcurved gape of
many actinopterygians may permit to increase the biting force thanks
to water resistance to advance when the fish keeps advancing whereas
biting...

2012/2/29 Mike Taylor <mike@indexdata.com>:
> The press coverage I saw was careful to say "any TERRESTRIAL animal".
>
> -- Mike.
>
>
> On 29 February 2012 17:19, Mark Witton <Mark.Witton@port.ac.uk> wrote:
>> And don't forget the big pliosaurs: I imagine their bite forces could
>> give Tyrannosaurus' bite a run for its money.
>>
>> Mark
>>
>> --
>>
>> Dr. Mark Witton
>> www.markwitton.com
>> Lecturer
>> Palaeobiology Research Group
>> School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
>> University of Portsmouth
>> Burnaby Building
>> Burnaby Road
>> Portsmouth
>> PO1 3QL
>>
>> Tel: (44)2392 842418
>> E-mail: Mark.Witton@port.ac.uk
>>
>> If pterosaurs are your thing, be sure to pop by:
>>
>> - Pterosaur.Net: www.pterosaur.net
>> - The Pterosaur.Net blog: http://pterosaur-net.blogspot.com/
>> - My pterosaur artwork: www.flickr.com/photos/markwitton
>>
>>
>>>>> Augusto Haro <augustoharo@gmail.com> 29/02/2012 17:13 >>>
>> Some of the science news stories speak of the highest bite force of
>> any animal... Has been the bite force of the largest (fossil) crocs
>> and cetaceans also been analyzed?
>>