T. rex Could Hit 19 MPH, British Scientists Say

They were huge, lumbering and certainly not the most graceful of creatures, but when they had to, dinosaurs sure could run, according to British scientists. Using prints from a fossilized dinosaur track in a quarry from southern England, a team from the University of Cambridge calculated that bipedal theropod dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus rex could run at speeds of up to 19 mph.

The tracks show the dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic period 163 million years ago used different hind-limb movements for walking and running, the researchers reported in the Jan. 31 Nature. Calculations indicate the lumbering beast walked pigeon-toed with wide steps at about 4 mph but could break into a 19-mph run by splaying its toes and putting one foot directly in front of the other.

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Compiled by Times staff writer Thomas H. Maugh II