Yeah, but could they do the backstroke?

---
Tracks suggest dinos could swim

Ancient footprints have provided compelling evidence that some dinosaurs
were able to swim, scientists report.

The 15m (50ft) trackway that reveals one animal's underwater odyssey was
discovered in the Cameros Basin in Spain, once a vast lake.

The S-shaped prints suggest the beast clawed at sediment on the lake
floor as it swam in about 3m (10ft) of water.

The marks are about 125 million years old, dating to the Early
Cretaceous, the team writes in the journal Geology.

They were left by a large, bipedal, carnivorous dinosaur.

"We came across them about three or four years ago," explained Dr Loic
Costeur, a palaeontologist at the University of Nantes, France, and a
co-author of the paper.

"The Cameros Basin has thousands of walking footprints from diverse
dinosaur fauna, but when we saw these it was obvious straightaway that
this was a swimming dinosaur."

Immediately obvious

The underwater trackway, which is well-preserved in sandstone, is made
up of 12 consecutive prints each consisting of two to three scratch
marks.

"The footprints are really peculiar in their shape and morphology - they
are not at all like walking footprints," Dr Costeur told the BBC News
website.

"In walking footprints, you can recognise the shape of the foot; but
here it is not at all the case: it is sets of grooves on the sediment
surface.

"You get the idea that the animals' body was supported by water as it
was scratching the sediment."

Ripple marks around the track suggested the dinosaur was swimming
against a current, attempting to keep a straight path, the team said.

Further investigation of the well-preserved track revealed more about
the beast's swimming style.

"The dinosaur swam with alternating movements of the two hind limbs: a
pelvic paddle swimming motion," said Dr Costeur.

"It is a swimming style of amplified walking with movements similar to
those used by modern bipeds, including aquatic birds."

For many years, the question of whether dinosaurs were able to swim
remained unanswered.

Investigations into dinosaur anatomy and ecology suggested it was
possible, but very little hard evidence existed documenting this
behaviour.

But Dr Costeur described the find as "extremely exciting" and said it
provided the first compelling evidence that dinosaurs were able to swim.

"The trackway at La Virgen del Campo opens the door to several new areas
of research," said Costeur.

"New biomechanical modelling will increase our understanding of dinosaur
physiology and physical capabilities, as well as our view of the
ecological niches in which they lived."

---
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6687129.stm
--
John #1782

"We should always be disposed to believe that which appears to us to be
white is really black, if the hierarchy of the church so decides."

- Saint Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) Founder of the Jesuit Order.

Yeah, but could they do the backstroke?

---
Tracks suggest dinos could swim

Ancient footprints have provided compelling evidence that some dinosaurs
were able to swim, scientists report.

The 15m (50ft) trackway that reveals one animal's underwater odyssey was
discovered in the Cameros Basin in Spain, once a vast lake.

The S-shaped prints suggest the beast clawed at sediment on the lake
floor as it swam in about 3m (10ft) of water.

The marks are about 125 million years old, dating to the Early
Cretaceous, the team writes in the journal Geology.

They were left by a large, bipedal, carnivorous dinosaur.

"We came across them about three or four years ago," explained Dr Loic
Costeur, a palaeontologist at the University of Nantes, France, and a
co-author of the paper.

"The Cameros Basin has thousands of walking footprints from diverse
dinosaur fauna, but when we saw these it was obvious straightaway that
this was a swimming dinosaur."

Immediately obvious

The underwater trackway, which is well-preserved in sandstone, is made
up of 12 consecutive prints each consisting of two to three scratch
marks.

"The footprints are really peculiar in their shape and morphology - they
are not at all like walking footprints," Dr Costeur told the BBC News
website.

"In walking footprints, you can recognise the shape of the foot; but
here it is not at all the case: it is sets of grooves on the sediment
surface.

"You get the idea that the animals' body was supported by water as it
was scratching the sediment."

Ripple marks around the track suggested the dinosaur was swimming
against a current, attempting to keep a straight path, the team said.

Further investigation of the well-preserved track revealed more about
the beast's swimming style.

"The dinosaur swam with alternating movements of the two hind limbs: a
pelvic paddle swimming motion," said Dr Costeur.

"It is a swimming style of amplified walking with movements similar to
those used by modern bipeds, including aquatic birds."

For many years, the question of whether dinosaurs were able to swim
remained unanswered.

Investigations into dinosaur anatomy and ecology suggested it was
possible, but very little hard evidence existed documenting this
behaviour.

But Dr Costeur described the find as "extremely exciting" and said it
provided the first compelling evidence that dinosaurs were able to swim.

"The trackway at La Virgen del Campo opens the door to several new areas
of research," said Costeur.

"New biomechanical modelling will increase our understanding of dinosaur
physiology and physical capabilities, as well as our view of the
ecological niches in which they lived."

---http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6687129.stm
--
John #1782

"We should always be disposed to believe that which appears to us to be
white is really black, if the hierarchy of the church so decides."

- Saint Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) Founder of the Jesuit Order.

Yeah, but could they do the backstroke?
---
Tracks suggest dinos could swim
Ancient footprints have provided compelling evidence that some dinosaurs
were able to swim, scientists report.
The 15m (50ft) trackway that reveals one animal's underwater odyssey was
discovered in the Cameros Basin in Spain, once a vast lake.
The S-shaped prints suggest the beast clawed at sediment on the lake
floor as it swam in about 3m (10ft) of water.
The marks are about 125 million years old, dating to the Early
Cretaceous, the team writes in the journal Geology.
They were left by a large, bipedal, carnivorous dinosaur.
"We came across them about three or four years ago," explained Dr Loic
Costeur, a palaeontologist at the University of Nantes, France, and a
co-author of the paper.
"The Cameros Basin has thousands of walking footprints from diverse
dinosaur fauna, but when we saw these it was obvious straightaway that
this was a swimming dinosaur."
Immediately obvious
The underwater trackway, which is well-preserved in sandstone, is made
up of 12 consecutive prints each consisting of two to three scratch
marks.
"The footprints are really peculiar in their shape and morphology - they
are not at all like walking footprints," Dr Costeur told the BBC News
website.
"In walking footprints, you can recognise the shape of the foot; but
here it is not at all the case: it is sets of grooves on the sediment
surface.
"You get the idea that the animals' body was supported by water as it
was scratching the sediment."
Ripple marks around the track suggested the dinosaur was swimming
against a current, attempting to keep a straight path, the team said.
Further investigation of the well-preserved track revealed more about
the beast's swimming style.
"The dinosaur swam with alternating movements of the two hind limbs: a
pelvic paddle swimming motion," said Dr Costeur.
"It is a swimming style of amplified walking with movements similar to
those used by modern bipeds, including aquatic birds."
For many years, the question of whether dinosaurs were able to swim
remained unanswered.
Investigations into dinosaur anatomy and ecology suggested it was
possible, but very little hard evidence existed documenting this
behaviour.
But Dr Costeur described the find as "extremely exciting" and said it
provided the first compelling evidence that dinosaurs were able to swim.
"The trackway at La Virgen del Campo opens the door to several new areas
of research," said Costeur.
"New biomechanical modelling will increase our understanding of dinosaur
physiology and physical capabilities, as well as our view of the
ecological niches in which they lived."
---
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6687129.stm