As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Sunday, 4 March 2018

Bolting birds help reveal dinosaur gait


22 February 2018

Research into how modern birds run and walk is taking an international team of palaeontologists and biomechanics experts a step closer to accurately reconstructing the way extinct dinosaurs moved.

The University of Queensland and Queensland Museum-led team has used high-speed video cameras and force-plates to study how a variety of ground-dwelling birds, ranging from quail to ostriches, walk and run.

Former UQ researcher Dr Christofer Clemente said ground reaction forces measurements of two-legged creatures had been used to develop a biomechanical computer simulation model that could be scaled from small birds to large dinosaurs.

“The model is another step towards reconstructing how dinosaurs walked and ran,” Dr Clemente said.

“It throws new light on dinosaur walking and running speeds, and how animals distributed that force.

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