The running ability of Tyrannosaurus rex has been intensively studied due to itsrelevance to interpretations of feeding behaviour and the biomechanics of scalingin giant predatory dinosaurs. Different studies using differing methodologies haveproduced a very wide range of top speed estimates and there is therefore a need todeveloptechniquesthatcanimprovethesepredictions.Herewepresentanewapproachthat combines two separate biomechanical techniques (multibody dynamic analysisand skeletal stress analysis) to demonstrate that true running gaits would probablylead to unacceptably high skeletal loads in T. rex. Combining these two approachesreduces the high-level of uncertainty in previous predictions associated with unknownsoft tissue parameters in dinosaurs, and demonstrates that the relatively long limbsegmentsofT. rex—longarguedtoindicatecompetentrunningability—wouldactuallyhave mechanically limited this species to walking gaits. Being limited to walking speedscontradictsargumentsofhigh-speedpursuitpredationforthelargestbipedaldinosaurslike T. rex, and demonstrates the power of multiphysics approaches for locomotorreconstructions of extinct animals.




转自f大微博