A high-heeled dinosaur walking on tiptoe

According to a study from the University of Queensland, a 24-tonne dinosaur may have walked in a "high-heeled" fashion.

UQ Ph.D. Candidate Andréas Jannel and his colleagues at the UQ Dinosaur Lab analyzed the fossils of the only Jurassic sauropod in Australia, Rhoetosaurus browneito better understand how such a huge creature could support its own weight.

"Looking at the bones of the foot, it was clear that rhoetosaurus walking with a heel high, asking the question: how can his foot support the huge mass of this animal, up to 40 tons? "said Mr. Jannel.

"Our research suggests that even though rhoetosaurus stood on tiptoe, the heel was stuffed with fleshy cushions. "

"We see a similar thing in the elephant's feet, but this dinosaur was at least five times heavier than an elephant, so the forces involved are much larger."

Jannel and his colleagues came to this conclusion by creating a replica of the fossil and then manipulating it physically to try to understand the movement between the bones.

"We also used 3D modeling techniques to evaluate different foot postures that would have allowed Rhoetosaurus to support its weight," he said.

"Finally, we looked at a range of sauropod footprints from around the world, many of which indicated the presence of a fleshy heel pad behind the toes, corroborating what the bones told us.

"The addition of a cushioning cushion that supports the raised heel seems to be a key innovation during the course of the sauropod evolution and has likely made its appearance among the early members of the group during periods of the Jurassic inferior to medium.

"The benefits of a soft tissue pad may have helped to facilitate the tendency to huge body sizes seen in these dinosaurs."

Fossils of the specimen R. brownei were discovered near Roma in southwestern Queensland and are dated 160 to 170 million years ago, when Australia was part of the supercontinent of Gondwana.

Dr. Jannel is now using computer techniques to simulate the impact of different foot postures and the presence of a soft tissue pad on the distribution of stress in the bones.

"In a nutshell, I use engineering tools to apply theoretical forces on bones, evaluating the distribution of stress in the feet of these giant dinosaurs, in order to provide mechanical evidence of the presence of such soft tissue pad.

"It can be a tedious and time-consuming process, but I've always been fascinated by paleontology, especially the link between form and function in missing animals," he said.

"There is so much to know, but it's amazing to discover that becoming" high-heeled "could have been a milestone in the evolution of sauropod dinosaurs."