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Article: Dinosaur linked to birds: ; Evidence suggests front limbs not used for walking
- Article from:
- Charleston Daily Mail
- Article date:
- March 5, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 Charleston Daily Mail. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Steven Spielberg got it wrong.
In his classic 1997 film Jurassic Park, the director showed
Tyrannosaurus rex, Velociraptor and other carnivorous dinosaurs
walking around with their forearms hanging down like a monkey's and
their palms more or less parallel to the ground - a posture
derisively referred to by paleontologists as the "bunny position."
A growing body of evidence, however, has suggested that the
creatures were physically unable to assume this position because
their wrist bones would not turn in this fashion.
Now, the first unequivocal handprint of a 198 million-year-old
crouching carnivore confirms this speculation, providing clear
evidence that the front limb struck the ground ...