Re: Sauropods as seen by Dale Russell in "Dinosaur Attack"

[Matt Wedel <sauropod@ou.edu>]

> > Wait a sec...  Is there a biomechanic in the house?  If a biped starts to
> > run *without* hopping, isn't it going to fall down?  Here's the problem:
> > somehow it has to get into the air for that first suspended phase.  That
> > isn't going to happen by walking fast.  That's a different motion with no
> > suspended phase, no?  So a biped would be forced to hop at least once if it
> > is going to run at all.

Sure, *one* foot has to kick off hard enough to get the animal suspended.  But
what was portrayed on the program was a two-footed hop, with the legs changing
sync in midair.  My point was that when a human or a bird goes from walking to
running, we push off harder and accelerate the tempo of our stride.  We don't do
some great leap into the air and totally change the rhythm of our stride, as was
suggested in the program.