The Strongest Bite of All

Black piranha, even at their small
body sizes, diet studies indicate that
piranhas will attack and bite chunks 
of bony fins and flesh from prey
many times larger than themselves.  
(Picture from: http://www.terradaily.com/)

We now discuss the animals bite force compared to their body weight, will produce something extraordinary. Researchers from the University of Washington said that the piranha fish bite stronger than sharks. In fact, the ancestor of carnivorous animals have bite force more violent than eating whale sharks in the past.

With 20 pounds of body weighs, the ancestors of piranhas has the power to bite stronger than eating whale sharks in prehistoric times. In fact, the piranha's bite force is more powerful than the ancient fish Dunkleosteus terrelli which weighs about four tons and Tyrannosaurus rex. Megapiranha paranensis have teeth that can cut through soft tissue like the modern piranha. Bite or a scissor cut style is capable of piercing shells and can crack or even break down the bone.

Fearsome predators with a strong bite: A Skeleton of the Extant Black Piranha with the Fossilised Teeth of M. paranensis (inset). (Picture from: http://blog.everythingdinosaur.co.uk/)

"If our calculations correctly, Megapiranha was the possible predator with the ability of bone crushing bite any of the prey," said Stephanie Crofts, researchers from the University of Washington. She said, Megapiranha that lived 10 million years ago, has provided new insights for researchers. The study involved the type of big piranha (Serrasalmus rhombeus) or black piranha. Researchers tried to analyze power of piranha bite. If the sharp-toothed fish weighs 2.5 pounds, the fish bite can deliver 320 newtons of bite power, or about 72 pounds, where that number is 30 times its original weight.

When body size is taken into account, the scientists working in conjunction colleagues from the Museum of La Plata (Argentina) and the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, calculated that the bite forces generated by the Black Piranha and the extinct Megapiranha would have been bigger than those forces generated by Tyrannosaurus rex as well as the extinct Megalodon giant shark (Carcharodon megalodon).  Palaeontologists have used studies of extinct animal’s  jaws and teeth to try and calculate the bite forces that these creatures could generate.  It seems that a fish often kept by aquarium enthusiasts could have had the most devastating bite of all.

The bite force of M. paranensis was calculated by creating a bronze-alloy model of the jaw and using a computer programme to assess the power of the bite force generated when biting into vertebrate bone, turtle carapace or into the scales of catfish, organisms that this extinct fish could have attacked.  The strength of the fish bite was due to a combination of factors according to the scientists, the shape and size of the teeth, the amount of muscle associated with the jaws and the ability of the jawbones to conduct huge forces through them as a result of their anatomical configuration.  It seems even the jaws of the most formidable predator of the Late Cretaceous – Tyrannosaurus rex may not have been a match for these freshwater predators.

Bite force quotients, considering both bite force and body size, compare the powerful bites of black piranha (S. rhombeus) and now-extinct Megapiranha (M. paranensis) with barracuda, blacktip shark (C. limbatus), bull shark (C. leucas), hammerhead shark (S. mokarran), the extinct 4-ton Dunkleosteus terrelli, great white shark (C caracharias) and the extinct whale-eating Carcharodon megalodon. (Picture from: http://www.futurity.org/)

Researchers found that the power of piranha bite is almost three times more powerful than the crocodiles bite that living in American waters. Researchers calculate Megapiranha paranensis, who weighs close to 22 pounds. With such heavy, Megapiranha paranensis has the bite power as hard as 1,240 to 4,750 newtons or 280 up to 1,070 pounds, or more. Meanwhile, other researchers had previously calculate bite force Tyrannosaurus rex. Researchers found that the dinosaurs have bite power 13,400 newtons or 3,000 pounds. This number is nearly 30 times heavier than the size of their original body weight. Researchers said the black piranha bite is so strong. It is affected by a very large jaw muscles of the tendon that resembles like the rope. This scientific study result published in Nature. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | NATURE | EVERYTHING DINOSAUR | FUTURITY | SRI | PIKIRAN RAKYAT 14022013]

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