You Couldn't Outswim a T-Rex, Either

Bad news for those of you who daydream about traveling back in time, encountering a Tyrannosaurus Rex and escaping in a speedboat: some predatory dinosaurs might have been able to swim.

(What? You mean you don't daydream about that, too? And of course you bring a speedboat when you go back in time. Duh.)

As a northeasterly wind whips against the shore, a meters-long dinosaur plunges into the shallow lake. Working hard, the predator takes strong strides with its hind limbs through the shoulder-deep water. The current is so strong that the beast must constantly fight to stay on course, but it succeeds, heading straight across the water. That's the story told by a remarkable set of fossilized footprints, described in the June issue of Geology, that provide the first hard evidence of predatory dinosaurs traveling in water.

Dinosaurs Charge Upstream [Science]

Image: Martin Belam*