The Fastest Dinosaurs

The fastest dinosaurs

According 1) __________ computer models that were used to estimate the running speeds of dinosaurs, the Tyrannosaurus Rex would have been able to outrun a footballer. The study shows that the dinosaur could reach a top 2) __________ of 8 metres a second, which is 3) __________ faster than the average professional footballer. There has been a lot of controversy 4) __________ whether the Tyrannosaurus Rex was a predator or a scavenger; some believe that its highly developed sense of smell indicates that it was a scavenger, 5) __________ others say that its keen eyesight shows that it was a hunter. The 6) __________ group will appreciate the recent study, as a hunter is more 7) __________ to require such speed

The University of Manchester study used a powerful supercomputer to calculate the running speeds of five meat-eating dinosaurs and used data taken 8) __________ from dinosaur fossils, 9) __________ than referring to previous work on modern animals.  The Tyrannosaurus Rex, 10) __________, was not the fastest dinosaur. A small dinosaur 11) __________ Compsognathus, which was about the 12) __________ of a chicken, could run at 18 metres a second, 13) __________ is faster than the ostrich, the fastest two-legged animal today. It could run 100 metres in a little over six seconds, which would 14) __________ modern Olympic 15) __________ more than a third of the track behind.