Which dinosaur is the fastest on the planet?

Despite using many methods such as studying footprints and computer modeling, experts still find it difficult to determine the exact speed of dinosaurs.

People already know a lot of information about dinosaurs, creatures that became extinct 60 million years ago. To understand their behavior, scientists often have to combine many methods because activities are rarely preserved in fossils. For example, footprint paths are a way to determine their behavior. So how fast were they and which was the fastest dinosaur?

Velociraptor dinosaur simulation. (Photo: Alamy).

Scientists are not absolutely certain about the fastest dinosaur, but there are some potential "candidates". One strong candidate is the Ornithomimosauria , a group of dinosaurs that looked a bit like modern ostriches. Today, ostriches are the fastest group of flightless birds on the planet. With a light body, distinctive gait and incredible height - up to 2.8m - they can reach speeds of 55 - 70km/h.

One anatomical feature that can reflect an animal's speed is the length of its thighs and legs. This feature can be included in the model to estimate the speed of the dinosaur. According to Dr. David Button, a dinosaur researcher at the London Natural History Museum, such estimates suggest that Velociraptor reached speeds of about 40km/h, at least during short runs.

"By dinosaur standards, this is quite fast but still not the fastest. That title belongs to Ornithomimosauria, a group of dinosaurs with very long legs and said to be able to run as fast as ostriches - creatures similar to them about appearance ," said Button.

Nicknamed " bird imitators," Ornithomimosauria is often considered a leading candidate for the fastest dinosaur group. According to the Encyclopedia of Alabama , their estimated speed is up to 48km/h, but this record is difficult to verify. This is partly due to the evidence that experts have to use when determining the speed of dinosaurs. Some dinosaurs may have run very fast, but distinguishing their footprints is difficult.

Ornithomimosauria dinosaur simulation. (Photo: Masato Hattori).

Footprint tracks are a way to study how fast dinosaurs moved. By looking at the sequence of footprints left by an individual, experts can make a rough estimate based on footsteps and foot size. According to the University of California Museum of Paleontology, the fastest speed of a dinosaur when estimated according to the footprint path is 43.5 km/h, comparable to famous athlete Usain Bolt.

However, scientists cannot determine for sure which dinosaur species this speed belongs to. Many dinosaur footprints look similar, so identifying species based on the footprint alone is not easy. Another problem is that footprint paths are best preserved on soft ground - an environment that is not ideal for fast running. Therefore, they provide only limited information about the speed of dinosaurs.

Instead of footprint paths, a study by a team of experts at the University of Manchester in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B modeled the running speed of dinosaurs based on anatomical information. They created musculoskeletal computer models to predict the speed of three extant bipeds (Emu, Struthio, humans) and five extinct species (Compsognathus, Velociraptor, Dilophosaurus, Allosaurus, Tyrannosaurus). Among them, the fastest group of dinosaurs is Compsognathus .