Washington, D.C. – Tyrannosaurus rex may not have been the slow, lumbering predator many once imagined.
A new peer-reviewed study published Tuesday in Royal Society Open Science suggests the massive dinosaur moved more like a giant ground bird — using a toe-first step that increased stride rate and potentially boosted speed.
According to researchers Adrian Tussel Boeye and colleagues, the way T. rex’s foot struck the ground played a major role in how it ran. Previous models often assumed a more heel-based or mid-foot strike. But fossil trackways and foot anatomy suggest the dinosaur likely stepped “distal-first,” meaning its toes hit the ground first — similar to modern birds like ostriches.
When researchers adjusted their biomechanical models to reflect that bird-like foot strike, stride frequency increased and top speed estimates rose by an average of about 20 percent compared to rear-foot models.
Even so, the results do not turn T. rex into a Hollywood super-sprinter.
The study supports previous research placing adult top speeds between 5 and 11 meters per second — roughly 11 to 25 miles per hour. Heavier adults likely stayed on the lower end of that range due to bone stress limits and muscle power constraints.
Smaller and younger T. rex specimens, however, showed higher potential speeds in the models, reinforcing theories that juveniles may have hunted different prey than fully grown adults.
Statistical analysis in the study found the toe-first model significantly affected both stride frequency and speed estimates.
Researchers say future 3D simulations incorporating tail motion and muscle dynamics could further refine how fast the apex predator really moved.
