Christian RyanGod’s Word clearly records that humans and other animals originally had an herbivorous diet (Genesis 1:29-30). However, this presents a stark contrast to the design features for obtaining food that are currently present in some animals. Consider everyone’s favorite Mesozoic “monster”: Tyrannosaurus rex, the “tyrant lizard king.” This theropod (meat-eating dinosaur) was more than 40 feet long from nose to tail, and tipped the scales at about ten tons or so. But Tyrannosaurus also had the most powerful jaws of any terrestrial carnivore, and a mouthful of banana-sized, pulverizing teeth.
The views expressed reflect those of the author mentioned, and not necessarily those of New Creation.
How could this animal have ever been a peaceful herbivore? Do not let the thought that T. rex represents God’s original design distract you. In reality, recent research by young-earth paleontologists suggests that the answer to this mystery lies in how this animal changed over time.
Yes, Tyrannosaurus Rex WAS a Meat-Eater
First, we must establish that Tyrannosaurus rex, as it appears in the fossil record, was a carnivore. This might seem obvious to some, but some non-scientific creationist literature (especially in the late 20th century) propagated the idea that the sharp teeth of T. rex were poorly-rooted in the jaw, and thus useless for hunting or eating meat.1 These authors instead claimed that this animal would have been better suited for crunching the tough, outer husks of fruit and other plants. After all, fruit bats and giant pandas have sharp teeth too, and yet they only eat plants. Why can we not apply the same logic to T. rex?
Designed to Kill
Tyrannosaurus’ teeth had tiny serrations lining their front and back. They were also curved, ensuring that whatever they gripped onto could not escape easily. While fruit bats and giant pandas do have sharp teeth, they are not like this at all. The only animals with serrated, curved teeth comparable to those of T. rex are creatures like the carnivorous monitor lizards. The Komodo dragon is a prime example.2 Additionally, specimens of Tyrannosaurus and similar dinosaurs have come to light with the bones of other dinosaurs in their stomachs.3 In some cases, scientists have discovered tooth marks and even broken teeth from Tyrannosaurus lodged in the bones of their prey.
Also, it is false to claim T. rex had poorly-rooted teeth. Their roots were much longer than the portion of the tooth that protruded from the gum. In any case, the design of theropod teeth was such that they fell out after they had worn out. Like sharks and crocodiles, they would frequently regrow lost teeth throughout their lives.
Humble Beginnings
T. rex may have been the top predator in its habitat, but its ancestors did not start out this way. Genesis 1:25 records that God created the land creatures according to their kinds, not species (our modern concept of a species did not yet exist). After their initial creation, each created kind diversified into many species. Statistical analyses done on Tyrannosaurus and other dinosaur species seem to indicate that it was one of several species that share common ancestry with the original tyrannosaur God created.4
This data is helpful in constructing a family tree of all known species belonging to this created kind. The “branches” of this family tree show which species are further down the lineage, like Tyrannosaurus. Those closer to the trunk, such as Eotyrannus, will represent species more similar to the original ancestor. Eotyrannus was different from T. rex. It had a less powerful skull and long, grasping arms with three-fingered hands.
Crowning the King
But we should be careful not to confuse Eotyrannus itself with the original tyrannosaur God made. Even this animal had the curved, serrated teeth of a carnivore. However, young-earth paleontologists have proposed that God originally created an Eotyrannus-like tyrannosaur with teeth more suited for an herbivorous diet.5 But sometime after Adam and Eve fell into sin, these creatures became carnivorous. God may have front-loaded the genes for predatory traits into the original Eotyrannus-like creature He created. Once these genes were “switched on” at some point, they would have become dominant as generations of tyrannosaurs passed. With time, the Eotyrannus-like dinosaur’s descendants diversified. Some mushroomed in size sacrificing longer arms for a more powerful skull and bone-pulverizing teeth. They fully assumed their role as king of the dinosaurs.
Footnotes
- Taylor, P. 1987. The Great Dinosaur Mystery. Colorado Springs: Cook Communications, pp 55. ↩︎
- D’Amore, D. C. 2009. “A functional, behavioral, and taphonomic analysis of ziphodont dentition: Novel methodology for the evaluation of carnivorous dinosaur feeding paleoecology.” Rutgers The State University of New Jersey-New Brunswick. ↩︎
- DePalma, R. A., Burnham, D. A., Martin, L. D., Rothschild, B. M., & Larson, P. L. 2013. “Physical evidence of predatory behavior in Tyrannosaurus rex.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(31), 12560-12564. ↩︎
- Aaron, M. 2014. “Discerning Tyrants from Usurpers: A Statistical Baraminological Analysis of Tyrannosauroidea Yielding the First Dinosaur Holobaramin.” Answers Research Journal, 7, 463–481. ↩︎
- Aaron, 2014, Answers Research Journal, 7, 463–481. (See Footnote 4) ↩︎
Noel Grimes
Ken Coulson
Kurt Wise
Todd Wood
Jake Ramgren
Good points and well written as usual. yet this creationist disagrees t rex was a lizard. yes it originally did not eat meat. nor was it big. Instead it was originally just a flying bird on creation week. then many took to the ground and some became hugh and later misidentified as reptiles. yet they were just flightless ground birds with bird brains, bird bones, and a wishbone. NOTE the wishbone. today the evolutionists having noticed how birdy theropods were concluded birds came from and are living dinosaurs. NOPE. There were no dinosaurs. Dinos are just reguler creatures misidentified and mis classified.
Very interesting article.
I saw a T rex post written by Dr. Marcus Ross at AIG, I really liked it.
Sadly, the T.Rex after the fall of Adam, went from being a dosile and benign reptile to a giant tyrant Dragon.
God did not create a great lizard that devoured triceratops or hadrosaurus, but rather peaceful reptiles that ate vegetables and fruits.
It is plausible to think that Enoch, in his life walking with God, has witnessed T.rex and other dinosaurs in more detail.
I imagine a T.rex fighting against the giants or the humans (such as the descendants of Cain and Set) would try to tame the T.rex before the great flood, because after it is unlikely that the tyrannosaurids will be as large as the fossils of the flood.
I don’t think T.rex is a giant bird, as in fact it was more like a Reptile than a crocodile and recent studies have shown that, contrary to theropods like dromaeosaurids (which I think were probably birds), T rex did not have feathers but scales like crocodiles. He also had a brain similar to them.
It is a shame that most paleontologists reject the historicity of the Bible and insist that T. rex and other dinosaurs lived millions of years based on their imaginary geological column, which is so abundant in textbooks, but in the Actually such ages are not consistent with reality, I mean, how the h**l are those canyons or mountains of supposed 66 or 200 (or more) still the same? Instead, it is more consistent with a worldwide flood of 5320 years ago, although I would like you, as a geology student, to tell me how I should formulate my argument against deep time, Blessings!!!
Hello Andres,
I’m glad you enjoyed this article! For arguments against the deep time perspective, I would recommend an excellent video by geologist Dr. Ken Coulson. On his YouTube channel, Creation Unfolding, he has an entire lecture on geologic evidence that is most consistent with a young-earth worldview. It’s a great watch! You can find it here.