14 DAY TRIAL // After analyzing several claw marks allegedly left by dinosaurs on the bottom of a river that used to flow through present-day China, a specialist working with the University of Alberta concluded that dinosaurs were most likely gifted swimmers.
The claw marks analyzed by Scott Persons extend over a distance of roughly 15 meters (almost 50 feet), and are believed to have been left by a carnivorous theropod, EurekAlert! informs us.
Given the way in which the claw marks are positioned one from the other, Scott Persons concluded that they were not merely the result of one dinosaur's moving through the water in a hectic manner.
“What we have are scratches left by the tips of a two-legged dinosaur's feet. The dinosaur's claw marks show it was swimming along in this river and just its tippy toes were touching bottom,” the researcher commented with respect to his findings.
A detailed account of this research was published in the journal Chinese Science Bulletin on April 8.