Which Animals Have The Strongest Bite?

The saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) has the greatest bite force of any living animal.

Tyrannosaurus Rex and Megalodon are the stars of science fiction for a reason: their bites were brutal. But which creatures, living and extinct, actually have the strongest bite force?

According to research published in Frontiers, bite force is the force generated by the muscles and bones of the upper and lower jaw when an animal bites. Animals with strong bite force usually have no problem subduing struggling prey. Some predators can even pierce their prey with particularly heavy armor.

Of all creatures living today, the saltwater crocodile ( Crocodylus porosus ) has the strongest known bite force of 16,460 newtons (newtons measure force), according to a 2012 study in the journal PLOS One. For comparison: 1 newton is about a quarter of a pound of force. Everything in a saltwater crocodile's jaws is subjected to extreme force during its dying breath.

There are two contenders that can challenge and possibly beat the herd, but their bite force has not been measured in the wild as these animals are aquatic predators. If confirmed, the killer whale ( Orcinus orca ) may have the strongest bite force, estimated by the Dutch Shark Society at 84,516 newtons, followed by a great white ( Carcharodon carcharias ) bite force of around 18,000 newtons in a distance. . . according to computer models used in a 2008 study published in the Journal of Zoology.

Among the extinct animals, the T. rex may have been king, with a killing force of 35,000 newtons when it hit the earth about 68-66 million years ago. The giant megalodon shark ( Otodus megalodon ) terrorized the sea from 15 to 3.6 million years ago with a bite force of up to 182,200 newtons. However, questions remain as to whether the shark was able to defeat the dinosaur. They are difficult to distinguish because the jaws of sharks and dinosaurs have different types and numbers of teeth, explained Jack Tseng, a biologist and assistant professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Related: Which animal has the most teeth on earth?

Bite force can be measured directly or indirectly. Living animals can bite on a dynamometer, so scientists measured the extreme bite of a sea crocodile. In living animals that scientists have not been able to test in this way, such as killer whales and sharks, bite force is based on what is known about the body structure, shape and type of prey they are hunting.

It is more difficult with extinct animals. Only the jaw bones remain in the skull, so researchers are using computer simulations to reconstruct the jaw muscles, which have long since degraded.

What happens with a small bite? Various characteristics, including head and jaw strength, play a role. Teeth are also weapons. T. rex's head alone had the power to crush bones, but it also had knife-like serrated teeth. However, there is one factor that trumps all others, if you ask Daniel Huber, professor and chair of the Department of Environmental Studies at the University of Florida in Tampa.

"[Body] size is the most important factor in determining bite force," Huber told Live Science in an email.

Huber found that predator size trumped everything else, including head width and prey strength. Determinants are the mandibular adductors, which are responsible for closing the jaw. "The size and position of these appendages may have evolved to maximize the amount of muscle force that can be translated into bite force," he told Live Science in an email.

According to a computer simulation of the king of dinosaurs, the T. Rex portrait probably had powerful jaws. Given the sharpness of its teeth, estimates of the dinosaur's bite force skyrocket, Huber said. But part of that overall power comes not only from the force of your bite, but also from the added biting pressure exerted by those sharp teeth.

"In general, the sharper the tip of the tooth, the greater the potential bite force for the same muscle force, as that force will be concentrated at the tip of the tooth," added Tseng.

Not all animals with great bite force are large and full of teeth. Some are not even predators. According to a 2019 study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the giant Galapagos ground fig ( Geospiza magnirostris ) has the most intense bite force for its size. This bird weighs only about 33 grams, but its beak can crack hard nuts and seeds with a force of 70 newtons, which according to the study is the strongest bite force for its size. This gives the finch 320 times more bite power than the T. rex .

How do people compare? The strongest impact our species can take is about 1000 Newtons, so we're not even in the same league.