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According to scientists who modeled their movements in 3D at Harvard University, two-legged dinosaurs may have swung their tails when they crashed into the undergrowth – just like humans swing their arms.
Until now, it was widely believed that bipedal (two-legged) dinosaurs had long tails to counterbalance the weight of their head, and the tail was just a rigid extension of the pelvis. But it is now believed that swinging their tails reduced the muscle effort required to propel themselves forward, meaning they could run faster.
To better understand how Coelophysis bauri – a small, carnivorous dinosaur that relied on speed and agility to catch its prey – could have moved depending on its physiology, Peter Bishop of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, USA, and his colleagues built a 3D simulation using dinosaur CT scans of the bones and digital models of how the skeleton would have come together.
Importantly, this simulation allowed them to predict which movement patterns would have maximized certain goals, such as running faster. And the impact of changing or removing certain segments of the body, such as the tail. The simulations unexpectedly revealed that the dinosaur made pronounced movements with its neck and long, heavy tail as it moved.
“It’s not like a dog wagging its tail when excited. It’s a modest bustle, but it’s very precisely timed with the legs swaying forward and backward, ”said Bishop, whose research was published in Science Advances. “Just like we humans swing our arms when we walk or run, we think it’s about balancing and counterbalancing the movement of other body segments.”
The team also studied the impact of tail retraction: this meant that the simulated dinosaur had to apply 18% more muscle effort when moving, suggesting that the tail may also have shrunk. Coelophysis energy expenditure – another reason humans swing their arms when they walk.
“When we cut the tail, the dinosaur actually had to wiggle its hips to make up for the loss of the tail,” Bishop said.
He believes the findings could also indicate how other two-legged dinosaurs, including giants such as the Tyrannosaurus rex, moved. “These simulations give us a much better understanding of what these creatures looked like as living animals, which allows us to build a better picture of the history of life, and an appreciation for how we got there. to the animals and plants that we have today, ”said the bishop.
Understanding these unique and extinct body planes could also be an inspiration for new, more efficient types of robots, he added.
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