Size and shape of a genric Carnotaurus sastrei from the Patagonia region of present day Argentina
New research on a very old animal has given one scientist enough info that the top velocity of the large dino can be estimated:
Persons figures the Carnotaurus could have topped out at 56 km/h, but only in a straight line, as the tail muscle prevented swift lateral movement. That’s faster than a charging rhinoceros, by comparison, and also a heck of a lot more deadly.
That’s not slow, it’s about 35 mph, but there are several breeds of domestic dogs, lots of horses and antelope — and a few species of cats whose half grown children — could leave this dino eating dust. Of course good science tends to be conservative and I wager that’s exactly what this researcher was doing. But in the almost 200 hundred million years dinos dominated, odds are good that somewhere and some-when, there were species that would give a modern greyhound or maybe even quarterhorse a run for the money.
Hasn’t that illustration been used on t-shirts or a poster with the caption “Don’t just stand there waving, RUN!!”?
If it has I want one.
For how long could one outrun a modern animal?
What do we know about the metabolism of these animals? Compared to modern animals, what was their daily caloric intake per unit of body mass? Did these beasts have the ability to regulate their body temperature enough to keep up such activity for a long time?
“I don’t have to outrun Carnotaurus Sastrei. I only have to outrun you.”
Sorry.