It turns out dinos were tail wagging enthusiasts.
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC]
00:04 Dinosaurs went extinct millions of years ago, but that doesn't mean we can't still learn
00:07 things about them even today.
00:09 And while birds are the great descendants of the dinosaurs, Science Alert reports they
00:13 moved much differently than the modern day flyers.
00:16 Many dinosaur species used to have rather long tails like the T-Rex, but experts were
00:19 never sure exactly why, believing they may have been for predator defense or communication.
00:24 But now, researchers from the Queensland Museum built 3D modeled simulations using the information
00:29 we have available on both the animals' biology and physics.
00:32 And this is how they believe dinosaurs with long tails actually moved, with their appendage
00:36 moving back and forth, essentially wagging as they ran.
00:40 Researcher and paleontologist Peter Bishop says it was imperative to their locomotion,
00:44 saying it was a means of controlling angular momentum throughout their gait.
00:47 The researchers say that not only did this increase the speed of the creatures, but also
00:51 decrease the effort exerted, finding with their simulation that without the tail, 18%
00:55 more muscular effort was needed to move at the same pace.
00:59 (gentle music)
01:01 (upbeat music)