00:04Dinosaurs went extinct millions of years ago, but that doesn't mean we can't still learn
00:08things about them even today.
00:09And while birds are the great descendants of the dinosaurs, Science Alert reports they
00:13moved much differently than the modern-day fliers.
00:16Many dinosaur species used to have rather long tails, like the T-Rex, but experts were
00:20never sure exactly why, believing they may have been for predator defense or communication.
00:24But now researchers from the Queensland Museum built 3D-modeled simulations using the information
00:29we have available on both the animals' biology and physics.
00:32And this is how they believe dinosaurs with long tails actually moved, with their appendage
00:37moving back and forth essentially wagging as they ran.
00:39Researcher and paleontologist Peter Bishop says it was imperative to their locomotion, saying
00:44it was a means of controlling angular momentum throughout their gait.
00:47The researchers say that not only did this increase the speed of the creatures, but also
00:51decrease the effort exerted, finding with their simulation that without the tail, 18% more
00:56muscular effort was needed to move at the same pace.
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