Could dinosaurs have been the first animals to fly using a biplane-like structure?
Paleontologist Sankar Chatterjee and aerospace engineer Joe Templin assert that the small feathered dinosaur known as Microraptor utilized techniques similar to those of the Wright brothers’ first airplane for flight.
This dinosaur, discovered in China, had feathers that allowed it to fly using both its front and rear limbs. According to the analysis by Chatterjee and Templin, the Microraptor’s legs could not rotate outward and thus could not be positioned directly beneath its front wings. Its rear wings were positioned behind and lower than the front wings, resembling a biplane configuration. The two researchers presented these findings at the annual meeting of the American Geological Society in Salt Lake City.
At the same conference, another research team reported the discovery of traces left by a bipedal dinosaur that could swim in Wyoming, USA. This dinosaur, roughly the size of an ostrich, roamed the shores of an ancient inland sea approximately 165 million years ago. The three-toed footprints of this dinosaur were found alongside those of crocodiles and other marine animals. The footprints became scarcer the further they were from the shore, suggesting that this reptile could float in the sea.
Researchers are continuing excavations in the ancient sea area covering parts of Colorado and Wyoming in search of bones or fossils that could provide further insights into this swimming dinosaur.