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How fast dinosaurs can run ? - Printable Version

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How fast dinosaurs can run ? - sanjay - 06-27-2016

From all extinct animals, I have found Dinosaurs to be more fascinating. May be the wonderful movies we saw in our childhood ? However I find it odd when I see dinosaurs running very fast, chasing cars. In last movie (The Jurassic World - 2016 ) We saw raptors are chasing the van and running along with bike. I heavily doubt that They can run that fast ?

So my question is, did dinosaurs really run that fast in past? Specially T-Rex or Raptors ? Or any other species ?

Tagging
@tigerluver, @Ngala, @GrizzlyClaws And any other who is reading this thread for in depth Answer.


RE: How fast dinosaurs can run ? - Ngala - 06-27-2016

I suggest to read this two researchs about the speed run of dinosaurs: 

Tyrannosaurus was not a fast runner Hutchinson & Garcia, 2002
Estimating dinosaur maximum running speeds using evolutionary robotics Sellers & Manning, 2007

I think that in the movie the speed run is excessive. T-Rex have a big body mass, and his body isn't for run. Velociraptor is smaller than T-Rex and run faster, but not side by side with cars.


RE: How fast dinosaurs can run ? - Spalea - 06-27-2016

Tyrannosaurs were living for a long time. If these theropods, adults  and subadults hunted together, we could admit that the jungs, being faster, were running in front of the parents in order to catch the prey by waiting for the most powerful adults to come and kill it. Perhaps the jungest could run at 40 kilometers per hour, while the oldest were not able to exceed 20-25 kilometers/h. This seems utopian for me to suppose that an adult t-rex, weighing 8 or 9 tons, could run faster.

As concerns the velociraptors, and other cœlusaurids, I think these animals could run at 60- 70 kilometers/hour. The same for the small ornithopsids and so on (gallimimus...).


RE: How fast dinosaurs can run ? - GrizzlyClaws - 06-27-2016

Those small Theropods were definitely adapted to be the fast runners, but I doubt this was also the same for a 8 tons Tyrannosaurus.

The bipedal animal has to first sustain its tremendous weight on two legs instead on four. Then, I don't think there is much room left for sprinting.

As for those large raptor species like Utahraptor, I can imagine they were running like some kind of giant ostrich.


RE: How fast dinosaurs can run ? - Polar - 06-28-2016

For me:

T-Rex: 18-20 mph (28-32 km/h)?

Velociraptor: Spalea's estimate agreed with.

Allosaurus: 25 mph (40 km/h)? It was a much lighter and lighter built dinosaur than T-Rex, and had a more streamlined skull and body designed for both agility and speed.

Over at CarnivoraForums, I saw a thread which detailed at dromaeosaurs had traded speed for agility, yet medium-sized theropods like Ceratosaurus and Eustreptospondylus traded agility for speed. This definitely explains the flexible hipbones of most maniraptorans, and the longer strides (greater leg length per total height ratio) for medium-sized theropods.

I don't know the correlation between agility and speed for Tyrannosaurus, though.


RE: How fast dinosaurs can run ? - Polar - 06-28-2016

@GrizzlyClaws,

By my earlier statement, Utahraptor would certainly be more reflexive and agile than an equally-sized Allosaurus, but the latter would win in terms of straight sprinting speed.


RE: How fast dinosaurs can run ? - GrizzlyClaws - 06-28-2016

Just like the bigger animal gonna outrun the smaller one.


RE: How fast dinosaurs can run ? - Polar - 06-28-2016

Now if the animal is significantly smaller (like Velociraptor vs Allosaurus), then the raptor would surely win.

But within weight parity or the theropod being less than ten times the body area of the dromaeosaur, then the theropod would most likely win the sprint.


RE: How fast dinosaurs can run ? - brotherbear - 07-03-2016

If T-rex was running fast, and tripped and fell hard to the ground, I believe that might be devastating to such a heavy animal. He could not even blunt the fall as a man might with his arms and hands. I believe that T-rex was suited more for walking than for running.