Terrifying dinosaurs 'agile' like ... turtles

The familiar image of carnivorous predators rushing into prey is actually fiction, a new study reveals. Computer models show that this horrifying dinosaur is actually just a lethargic.

Previous studies have investigated the movement of birds - direct descendants of dinosaurs, and fossil footprints to assess the movement of tyrants.

For a better assessment of this creature's movement, the new study modeled a typical skeleton of tyrant dinosaurs, weighing about 6 to 8 tons, calculating focus and inertia (resistance). born when the animal turns or turns. The focus is considered an important indicator because the two animals are equally heavy but can move very differently, depending on the volume distribution. For example, the four-legged elephant will place its focus on its leg, while the dinosaur must balance its mass in another position, because the forelegs are too small for the hind legs, helping it from falling over.

Tyrannosaurus must use its tail to balance the big head while chasing prey.(Photo: LiveScience)

The model results, published in Theoretical Biology , show that tyrannical dinosaurs have a relatively large inertia, making it impossible to run fast: a costly 45 degree turn takes 1-2 seconds, long much more than humans.

Deeper calculations supported earlier estimates that large bipedal dinosaurs could not run 40 kilometers per hour faster (and certainly not 70 km / hour as in movies), because of the muscles Its feet are not enough to run fast.

The research team was led by John Hutchinson from the Royal Veterinary University, London, England.

T. An