The T. rex Lip Debate is Over!

Finally, a paper looking at multiple lines of evidence regarding dinosaur lips is out, and seems pretty conclusive!

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[godslaughter]

I am not gonna lie to you, birds DO have lips, but not at the front of their mouths because their dentary and maxilla are covered in keratin. They still have lips in the corners of their mouths and as long as we don't get something that contradicts it, I'm gonna avidly keep giving non-avian dinosaurs bird-like rictuses. Bird lips are very flexible, it's always so fascinating to study them when dealing with some corpses.

[patreekotime]

Whats funny is that many of us grew up with depictions of dinosaurs with lips. In the early 80s most books and media that I encountered were full of art from the 1920s-1960s (presumably because it was out of copyright) and those typically showed dinosaurs as giant lizards... complete with lips. It wasnt until Jurassic Park and the tidal wave of dino renaissance depictions popularized the toothy look which always felt a bit weird IMO.

[sampagano]

I don't care what the science says, I'm going to die on the hill of t Rex having extremely impressive and movable lips specifically adapted for kissing.

[alioramus]

I keept saying it and fighting with people. Lips are the norm in tetrapods. Exposed teeth is usually a derived feature, evolved for a specific purpose.

[quantumpalmtree]

now imagine a world where dinosaurs get lip injections because they discovered vanity with time

[daintybeigli]

The uncovered teeth of crocs seem to be more towards the exception than the rule. I appreciate when you discuss ethical issues! Scientists can be as problematic as any other group of humans.

[beerasaurus]

Who wouldn’t want lips as kissable as Tyrannosaurus?

[keepcalmlovedinosaurs]

I'm an author. And its really frustrating when you find out new data about certain dinosaur anatomy [spinosaurus and dinosaur vocalizations e.g.] you have to rewrite whole chapters. For the past two years I was with the lipped theropod notion.
Keep up the good work man! 😎👍

[carlorielmendez]

Imagine if the guys that hated feathered dinosaurs a few years back used the same argument with dino lips as "not scary like they used to in the old movies" logic.
Leave those guys in Komodo island and let's see if they last a week among those giants without pissing their pants.

[petrairene]

So, if lips keep teeth moist, and therefor the contemporary crocs don't have them because they are aquatic, did terrestrial crocs in the past develop lips? After all multiple lines of crocs became secondarily terrestrial.

[miquelescribanoivars]

> It probably isn't over.





Though it deffinitively has been reinforced

[quinnbuffet]

I can't believe people look at an Iguana or a Komodo Dragon and say "Oh yeah a lack of lips would be totally less threatening."

[theargonianmercenary]

There’s something perplexing about how up in arms some people can get about whether or not some dinosaurs had lips. People have literally purposed sauropods had TRUNKS for crying out loud! This seems like a small, small thing to get up in arms about, no matter what side you’re on.

[skybluskyblueify]

Could this mean that the sabre -toothed cats may have had their longest teeth covered by lips? What about the marsupial sabertooth Thylacosmilus?

[gowzahr]

"Imagine needing lips to keep your teeth moist."

-crocodilians

[sauraplay]

That’s interesting, and I always liked the look of lips.

[Kanyon]

I remember having T-rex toys in the late 80s which were still depicted as standing upright, dragging their tails on the ground like a kangaroo. It's fascinating how science and biology is all connected.

[jayconstantine]

Thankyou! That verifies my research on my Spinosaurus! I agonised over this, but after reading Mark Witton's Paeleoartist's Handbook, came down on the side of lips. I think he looks much better with them. (The Spinosaurus that is!)

[dennismason]

I am officially calling this Rexy Lips Day.

[catherinehubbard]

I wonder if the extinct land crocs, which presumably spent little time in water, had lips to keep their teeth moist.