-
Michael Deak posted an image in the group Paleo Pics from the myFOSSIL app 5 years, 1 month ago
5 years, 1 month ago5 years, 1 month agoSo here’s a little experiment I did a week ago with our Tarbosaurus skull. I ended up taping thin sheets of paper over the lateral temporal fenestrae, and they seem to be offset. This may be simple deformation, or it could mean that Tyrannosaurids had stereophony akin to owls. If so, maybe they had a small facial ruff behind the ears to help funnel in sound. #fossil
After researching your question online I cannot find any information suggesting tyrannosaurs had asymmetrical ears. I did learn that asymmetry in ears in owls occurs primarily in nocturnal species. But then I also didn’t find information saying tyrannosaurs were nocturnal hunters or not. Either way, it pains me to see you taping anything to a museum specimen, unless this is a reproduction or cast of a skull. https.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrannosaurus, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1377110/Some-dinosaur-species-nocturnal-did-hunting-night.html
This is clearly a cast and not an actual specimen. However this is a first generation cast and is very close to the original specimen which is the one that Nick Cage used to own. Again, the reason why I taped thin sheets of paper of the lateral temporal fenestrae is to see if they are asymmetrical or not, and they appear to be so. Also, try giving this GSA abstract a read: https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2015AM/webprogram/Paper265794.html
Also, last I checked its illegal to own an actual Tarbosaurus skull in the United States, and all of the real ones are in museums in Mongolia.