Researchers from the Faculty of Biology at the University of Warsaw (UW) conducted research on the way how early dinosaurs moved. They found that the dinosaurs were derived directly from four-legged animals, and not as previously thought from bipeds.
Warsaw researchers were the first to learn how silezaur moved considering the background of the early evolution of the bird line. The results of their research were published in the Journal of Anatomy.
In 2003, Prof. Jerzy Dzik from the Faculty of Biology of the University of Warsaw described a new pre-dinosaur from Krasiejów near Opole on the basis of several hundred well-preserved bones. He called it Silesaurus opolensis. The animal did not resemble other pre-dinosaurs known from that time. It was characterized by long and slender forelegs and has been reconstructed as four-legged reptile.
The discovery divided the scientific community. Most researchers considered the silezaur re-adapted to the four-legged life, as an exception from the bipeds.
The aim of the project of scientists from the University of Warsaw was to learn how silezaurs moved against the background of the early evolution of the bird line. Body posture and range of limb movement were established thanks to well-preserved bone surfaces for joints and muscle attachments.
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