Tyrannosaurus Rex Walked Slow, New Study Finds

Tyrannosaurus Rex is a fearsome predator, but it was surely not a fast mover. Most of the humans could easily keep up with the dinosaur without sweating out. Tyrannosaurus Rex would have covered under 3 miles in just an hour which is similar to the speed of humans and many other animals. It is also referred to as the walking speed.

However, the pace is slower than the estimates of the tyrant lizard king’s walking speed. Most animals have a natural walking speed – including humans – as they have no reason to run. This minimizes the amount of body energy spent. Earlier estimates had not considered the role of the Tyrannosaurus Rex tail – which is more than half its length.

Van Bijlert, a graduate student in paleo-biomechanics at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, said, “Animals tend to prefer walking speeds at which, for a given distance, energy cost is minimal. They do this choosing specific step rhythms at which their body parts resonate. Since the entire tail of Tyrannosaurus Rex is suspended by ligaments, which behave like rubber bands, we reconstructed this tail to investigate at which step rhythm the tail of Tyrannosaurus Rex would resonate.”

The research team has calculated a step rhythm from a computer model of a Tyrannosaurus Rex Tail. The scientists then multiplied the step rhythm by the step length found the fossilized tracks for the estimated baseline walking speed at 2.86 miles per hour. He also said that the main focus was on the calculations based on the legs and hips.