These carnivorous dinosaurs could run as fast as Usain Bolt

(CNN) – This dinosaur could run at speeds as fast as the fastest human in the world.

Theropods were carnivorous dinosaurs that ran on two legs. Their feet had three toes with sharp claws, similar to those of some dinosaurs like velociraptors that appear in the movies.

Using fossil footprints left in the dirt in La Rioja, Spain, the researchers were able to identify the running speeds of two different dinosaurs, according to research published Thursday in the academic journal. Scientific Reports.

The theropod that made the largest pair of tracks, which they called La Torre 6A-14, ran between 23.3 and 37.2 kilometers per hour. This is one of the fastest calculated theropod running speeds, according to the study.

The owner of the smallest footprints, which were named La Torre 6B-1, outpaced the other theropod at speeds of between 31.7 and 44.6 kilometers per hour. Usain Bolt, the fastest human in the world, ran up to 43.9 kilometers per hour during a 100-meter race in 2011, so the theropod was only slightly faster than him.

Footprints captured in the mud of the lake

The researchers had five fingerprints to analyze from La Torre 6A-14 and seven from La Torre 6B-1. Fast-running dinosaur tracks are hard to find, said study co-author Pablo Navarro-Lorbés, a doctoral candidate at the University of La Rioja, Spain.

According to Navarro-Lorbés, theropods probably lived during the Lower Cretaceous, between 145 and 100.5 million years ago. During that time, there was a lake system in the area that was experiencing changes in water level, he added.

“During periods of low water level, dinosaurs could walk and run on these lake deposits, leaving footprints in the mud,” explained Navarro-Lorbés by email.

The scientists used a formula to determine the speed at which the theropods ran. The researchers used the relationship between the animal’s jump height, which was found by measuring footprint length, and stride length, which was the distance between two successive footprints made by the same foot, he said.

Mysterious species of theropods

It is unknown what species these theropods were, Navarro-Lorbés said. The research team has hypothesized that they belong to the spinosaurus or carcharodontosaurid families.

Based on the characteristics of the tracks, it is likely that the two tracks were made by theropods of the same species, although one was probably smaller than the other, he said.

A typical theropod measured about 2 meters in height and between 4 and 5 meters in length, according to Navarro-Lorbés. He added that they hunted other dinosaurs and animals for food.

The findings help the scientific community better understand the habits of dinosaurs and the speed at which certain animals could run during this time, Navarro-Lorbés said, offering a more detailed picture of how these creatures lived.