Episode 8: Crocodiles are the Chomping Champions

Fossils are the raw materials of paleontology, but if we want to know how an animal moved or ate, paleontologists, like Dr. Paul Gignac, need to study living animals, too. Dr. Gignac studies crocodylians, measuring their bite forces across species and as they grow up to figure out how the strongest bite in nature evolved. Using techniques drawn from mechanical engineering and physiology, Dr. Gignac discovered the relationship between body size and bite force in crocodiles, and developed equations to calculate those forces. Then he used these equations to calculate the bite forces of giant extinct crocodiles like Deinosuchus. He also studied the bite marks left by the sickle-clawed dinosaur Deinonychus to calculate dinosaur bite forces. There are so many questions to ask about extinct animals but there's also a lot left to learn about their living descendants! The lines between scientific disciplines get blurred and the questions just get more interesting in this episode of Past Time!