3D paleo-reconstruction of a sauropod dinosaur. Credit: Dr. Andreas Jannel
A research reveals how dinosaurs carried their huge weight.
Researchers have solved a long-standing thriller by determining how sauropod dinosaurs, such because the Brontosaurus and Diplodocus, supported their huge our bodies on land.
A workforce headed by the University of Queensland and Monash University utilized engineering strategies and 3D modeling to digitally reconstruct and consider the performance of assorted sauropods’ foot bones.
According to Dr. Andréas Jannel, who carried out the research as a part of his Ph.D. research at UQ’s Dinosaur Lab, the researchers found that sauropods’ hind toes had a smooth tissue pad beneath the “heel,” cushioning the foot to soak up their huge weight.
“We’ve finally confirmed a long-suspected idea and we provide, for the first time, biomechanical evidence that a soft tissue pad – particularly in their back feet – would have played a crucial role in reducing locomotor pressures and bone stresses,” Dr. Jannel said. “It is mind-blowing to imagine that these giant creatures could have been able to support their own weight on land.”
The sauropods had smooth tissue pads to soak up their huge weight and allow them to stroll on land. Credit: Dr. Andreas Jannel
Sauropods have been the world’s largest terrestrial animals, roaming the planet for over 100 million years.
They have been initially believed to have been semi-aquatic with their huge weight supported by water buoyancy. However, this speculation was disproved after the invention of sauropod tracks in terrestrial deposits in the course of the 20 th century.
According to Dr. Olga Panagiotopoulou of Monash University, it had additionally been believed that sauropods possessed toes much like these of an elephant right now.
“Popular tradition – suppose Jurassic Park or Walking with Dinosaurs – often depicts these behemoths with almost-cylindrical, thick, elephant-like feet,” Dr. Panagiotopoulou said. “But when it comes to their skeletal structure, elephants are actually ‘tip-toed’ on all four feet, whereas sauropods have different foot configurations in their front and back feet. Sauropod’s front feet are more columnar-like, while they present more ‘wedge high heels’ at the back supported by a large soft tissue pad.”
Animation of a hypothetical sauropod’s foot being supported by a soft tissue pad. Credit: Dr. Andreas Jannel
According to UQ’s Associate Professor Steve Salisbury, this is because sauropods and elephants had different evolutionary origins.
“Elephants belong to an ancient order of mammals called proboscideans, which first appeared in Africa roughly 60 million years ago as small, nondescript herbivores, ” Associate Professor Salisbury said.
“In contrast, sauropods – whose ancestors first appeared 230 million years ago – are more closely related to birds. They were agile, two-legged herbivores and it was only later in their evolution that they walked on all fours. Crucially, the transition to becoming the largest land animals to walk the earth seems to have involved the adaptation of a heel pad.”
The researchers now plan to use 3D modeling and engineering methods to make further discoveries.
“I’m keen to apply a similar method to an entire limb and to include additional soft tissue such as muscles, which are rarely preserved in fossils,” Dr. Jannel said.
“We’re also excited to study the limbs and feet of other prehistoric animals. This should allow us to answer different questions about the biomechanics of extinct animals and better understand their environmental adaptations, movement, and lifestyle.”
Reference: “Softening the steps to gigantism in sauropod dinosaurs through the evolution of a pedal pad” by Andréas Jannel, Steven W. Salisbury and Olga Panagiotopoulou, 10 August 2022, Science Advances.
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abm8280
