About 100 million years ago, a sparrow-sized microraptorian (a long-lost cousin of modern birds) sped across the landscape of modern-day South Korea, leaving behind a mysterious set of footprints with surprisingly long strides. Now, paleontologists suggest that the species used a unique type of aerial motion: flap-running.
Published in a study in the journal PNAS in October, the findings may improve our understanding of the origins of flight.
“It had only two toes on each foot, and that’s what told us it was a raptor dinosaur,” says Thomas R. Holtz, a carnivorous dinosaur specialist at the University of Maryland and a co-author of the study. “As all Jurassic Park fans know, raptors walked on two toes, and their killing claw was lifted off the ground and didn’t make a toe print when they were walking. But what was curious about the trackway was the distance between the footfalls.”
