Andréas Jannel, who conducted the research during his PhD studies at UQ’s Dinosaur Lab, has been able to show for the first time that, regardless of their posture, a soft heel pad was critical to how sauropod dinosaurs supported their immense weight. The acquisition of a soft heel pad appears to have occurred early in sauropod evolution. Along with other changes to the skeleton, it was likely a key step that allowed these dinosaurs to become the largest animals to have ever walked the earth.
Read the full UQ News article
Article in The Conversation
Jannel, A., Salisbury, S.W. and Panagiotopoulou, O., 2022. Softening the stepts to gigantism in sauropod dinosaurs through the evolution of a pedal pad. Science Advances, 8(32), 1–13. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abm8
