Reconstructing dinosaur locomotion.

Abstract

Dinosaur locomotor biomechanics are of major interest. Locomotion of an animal affects many, if not most, aspects of life reconstruction, including behaviour, performance, ecology and appearance. Yet locomotion is one aspect of non-avian dinosaurs that we cannot directly observe. To shed light on how dinosaurs moved, we must draw from multiple sources of evidence. Extant taxa provide the basic principles of locomotion, bracket soft-tissue reconstructions and provide validation data for methods and hypotheses applied to dinosaurs. The skeletal evidence itself can be used directly to reconstruct posture, range of motion and mass (segment and whole-body). Building on skeletal reconstructions, musculoskeletal models inform muscle function and form the basis of simulations to test hypotheses of locomotor performance. Finally, fossilized footprints are our only direct record of motion and can provide important snapshots of extinct animals, shedding light on speed, gait and posture. Building confident reconstructions of dinosaur locomotion requires evidence from all four sources of information. This review explores recent work in these areas, with a methodological focus.