Stance and gait in the flesh-eating dinosaur Tyrannosaurus

Abstract

A study of the stance and locomotion of Tyrannosaurus was made for the mounting of the partial skeleton at the British Museum (Natural History). This shows that the posture was much more bird-like than is indicated by previous mounts, and also the tail is shorter. During walking the vertebral column was held nearly horizontal with the tail clear of the ground. The fore-limbs acted as struts to stop the body sliding forward as the animal raised its body from the resting position.