The other two didactyl footprints from China preserved much slower walks. In those cases, the raptor was only moving around 1.1 miles per hour and 3.6 miles per hour, further suggesting that the Korean dinosaur really cranked up its speed for the lakeside run. Peter Makovicky, assistant curator of Fossil Amphibians and Reptiles at The Field Museum in Chicago, told Discovery News that "a lot of footprints are hard to identify, but I agree with Lockley and his team that these belonged to a clawed raptor." Makovicky explained that the tracks are "important, because they fill in gaps within the fossil record." The size, speed and location data will now be added to other didactyl findings, which suggest the meat-eating dinosaurs moved in flocks or herds, although the Korean individual probably ran without a group in that one preserved moment. He added that this particular dinosaur was about the size of an emu, and might have behaved in a similar manner. "I once clocked an emu running 55 kilometers per mile (just over 34 mph) while I was in a truck alongside it," Makovicky said. "Like emus, the feathered raptor dinosaur would have been too big to fly, but it certainly could run fast." Related Links: How Stuff Works: How Dinosaurs Work |
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