The Evolution of Dinosaurs and Their Strong Tails for Walking and Running

By Jenia Cane / 1488684359
(Photo : Pixabay) The Evolution of Dinosaurs and Their Strong Tails for Walking and Running

Dinosaurs used to get some help from their strong tails for them to walk and run. A new study suggested that the humongous creatures used this part behind their bodies to move from one place to another faster.

While it can be observed that the creatures were full of strength, a study revealed that the earlier ones actually needed the help of the tails in order to move around. The dinosaurs survived during the Mesozoic era.

Known as bipedalism, or the skill to move about using their four feet and standing up with just their hind legs, it was revealed that this came from the ancient and a lot smaller proto-dinosaurs.

"The tails of proto-dinosaurs had big, leg-powering muscles," said Scott Persons, the lead study author and a postdoctoral fellow at University of Alberta in Canada. "Having this muscle mass provided the strength and power required for early dinosaurs to stand on and move with their two back feet."

He further shared that the evolution of dinosaurs has "a similar effect in many modern lizards that rise up and run bipedally."

Meanwhile, the study published in the "Journal of Theoretical Biology" debunked claims that proto-dinosaurs stand on just two feet in order to free the two others for catching prey.

"Those explanations don't stand up," Persons added. "Many ancient bipedal dinosaurs were herbivores, and even early carnivorous dinosaurs evolved small forearms. Rather than using their hands to grapple with prey, it is more likely they seized their meals with their powerful jaws."

It was emphasized that despite getting used to four legs when moving around, the evolution of dinosaurs reportedly proved that they eventually gave up their "quadruped lifesyle," and started to rely on their feet at the back for walking and running (bipedalism).