What Crocs on Treadmills Can Teach Us About Dinosaurs

[Narrator] Alligators, crocodiles, and gharials

aren't exactly known for their easygoing natures.

They get even less friendly

when you force them to run on a treadmill.

There he goes.

[Narrator] But it's worth it

because watching crocodilians exercise

might teach us how dinosaurs breathed.

To get American alligators to walk

the custom treadmill in his lab at Cal State San Bernadino,

vertebrate physiologist Tomasz Owerkowicz

has to tap the bases of their tails.

Walk forward, forward, forward. You understand.

[Narrator] He and his colleagues

are studying how crocodilians' diaphragms work.

The piston-like action of the muscle displaces the guts,

allowing a quicker intake of breath.

Anatomists used to think this resulted

in a massive flow of oxygen to the lungs

for times of increased activity.

The researchers found that the piston pump action

does kick in during exercise, but, surprisingly,

it doesn't significantly improve overall air intake.

They suspect the same was true for dinosaurs,

crocodilians' distant cousins.

He's going and making a bee line for the door.

[Narrator] Owerkowicz wouldn't express an opinion

on how a T-Rex would do on a treadmill.