T Rex pulling the heads of Triceratops to eat the neck muscles

[andrewsaurus rex]

I imagine most on here are familiar with this theory.  The evidence being from Triceratops frills with puncture holes and marks that indicate pulling on the frill by T-Rex teeth.  The idea being that T-Rex wanted the juicy, rich neck muscles of the Triceratops and literally grabbed dead Triceratops by  the frill and pulled its head off to get at them.

To my pea brain, this seem preposterous .  First off, assuming that T-Rex was strong enough to perform this feat, I have read over and over that Triceratops' frill was fragile and would not have provided decent protection for the neck. area.  How could this same fragile frill then stand up to the tremendous forces of being used to rip Triceratops' head off?  Surely the frill would just break and tear first.

Also, why go to the trouble of ripping its head off?  Why not just eat the neck muscles by, well, eating he neck from the outside in.

To my mind, the puncture marks and gouges on the frill caused by T-Rex teeth are evidence of battles between Rex and Triceratops....battles that T-Rex won, which is why there is no evidence of healing.  I could see 2 or 3 T-Rex's ganging up on one Triceratops and the Triceratops having little to no chance of surviving.....one Rex holds the Triceratops' head by the frill or a brow horn to immobilize the Triceratops, while one or two other Rexes go after the rear legs to bring the Triceratops to ground.   Game over.

[Lynx]

As far as I know, it's not worth the effort of digging through the entire corpse just to get to the vital organs inside the head/neck (if that's even possible at all. It's far more likely Tyrannosaurus would have ripped the head off to access this than it digging through the corpse, as weird as it may sound.

[Faelrin]

FYI it is T. rex. It is a binomial name. Species name should always be lowercase, and there should be a period, if the genus name is shortened.

I imagine it rips the head off of Triceratops is because it simply could, and it isn't an inefficient use of its energy. There is a ton of power in the neck and jaws of that animal. In fact it is one of the strongest out there, if not the strongest. I imagine going in through the neck may be easier then dealing with the thick hide, and could be quicker to get at its organs as well, never mind the nutritional value of everything in there for such a large active predator.

Also worth mentioning that T. rex could not move fast at all. At best it could power walk. It was definitely an ambush hunter, although it probably also scavenged from time to time because predators won't turn up a free meal.

There's also evidence of T. rex being cannibalistic I if recall right, and also from an Edmontosaurus annectens tail that showed signs of healing and survival.

[SidB]

Isn't it great NOT being a Triceratops!

[stargatedalek]

I'm still not convinced this wasn't a killing method.

Tyrannosaurus shows adaptations for nocturnal hunting (eye placement and vision acuity namely), the idea that it could startle and separate Triceratops and then pin one down in the dark doesn't seem that far-fetched to me.

[andrewsaurus rex]

interesting comments so far....that's what I was hoping for when I started the thread. 

That Rex, (sorry T. rex) was slow is not a big deal imo.  'Slow' is a relative term.  You can be slow but still be faster than what you are chasing.  In my mind, I am confident T.rex hunted and  killed Triceratops and I am also confident they hunted co-operatively, whether in loose association with other T. rexes in the area, family groups or packs (flocks), I don't know. 

I suspect it would be easier to catch a Triceratops than any hadrosaur, which were no doubt faster than a T. rex.  Not easier to kill but easier to catch....but if you can't catch something it doesn't really matter how easy it is to kill.

[Cretaceous Crab]

I'm no paleontologist, but just comparing to extant megafauna predator-prey encounters.

The key is bringing down the prey as quickly and safely (for the predator, anyway!) as possible. Most predators don't typically go after a prey animal their own size alone, with few exceptions. Big cats will go for the throat and mouth to cut off breathing. The rest go for the legs and hindquarters, because dealing with antlers and horns is risky. Or maybe under, like wolves attacking a moose.

The only extant mega herbivore I can think of off the top of my head that can counter this is the rhinoceros. Probably the only thing that comes close to comparing with a ceratopsian with multiple horns and a frill. Going straight for the neck and horns is going to be risky. It makes more sense to ambush from behind and take a big hunk from the Triceratops hind end, letting it slow down from blood loss and shock. Or maybe charging and trying to turn the Triceratops over and start eating its belly.

[andrewsaurus rex]

When I wrote my description of how I felt a pair of T. rex could take down a Triceratops, in my first post, I based it on a video I saw a while ago of two female lions (also known as a lioness, but pluralizing lioness to lionesses makes me feel like Gollum), two female lions taking down a full grown male Roan antelope.

One lioness grabbed the antelope by the snout, which kept it from running and controlled the head to keep it from slashing around with its horns.  The other lioness started chewing on the tendons in the back legs.  After a few minutes, both female lions, went and lay  down in the shade.  The antelope just stood there, seemingly uninjured.  But the females knew what they were doing.  The rear legs of the antelope had been seriously injured and after a time, the antelope, no longer able to stand, fell to the ground.  At that point the two lions strolled over and carefully finished off the antelope.  Efficient and without injury to either lion. 

So a predator can go after the dangerous front end of a horned animal and have success.  In the case of T. rex, he/she may weigh as much or more than the Triceratops its attacking, as opposed to a lioness which probably weighs half what the Roan antelope weighed.  So I feel a pair of T. rex would be able to dispatch a Triceratops of any size.  However, there are no doubt many other strategies that would work as well for a solo T. rex  eg your slash and bleed out scenario.

[Pliosaurking]

If the triceratops knows the trex is there I'd say the Rex would give up. If both squared off with each other my money would definitely be on the triceratops. I think ambushing the trike from behind would be the best bet and either disable it's hips or go for the neck.