SYDNEY, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Dinosaurs, such as the ferocious Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptors, would wag their tails as they pursued their prey, according to a research conducted by an international research team led by an Australian scientist and unveiled on Thursday.

Dr Peter Bishop, who holds an honorary position at the Queensland Museum Network, led the palaeontologists, biomechanists and engineers in the study undertaken at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in London.

Their findings, based on more than three years of research and published in the latest scientific journal Science Advances, is a departure from previous perceptions of how the prehistoric creatures moved.

Bishop said earlier studies had always treated the dinosaur tails as being a "static rear extension of the pelvis that acted as a counterbalance."

"Essentially, our findings show that dinosaurs, like Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptors, wagged their tails from side to side when they ran, which helped them stay balanced," he said.

"When I first saw the simulation results, I was very surprised, but after running a range of further simulations making the tails heavier, lighter and even no tail at all, we were able to conclusively demonstrate the tail wagging was a means of controlling angular momentum throughout their gait."

He said, "angular momentum" was the principle that dictates how ballerinas and figure skaters can execute pirouettes."

The research used computer simulations and leveraged new methods developed by engineers and included modelling of a small carnivorous dinosaur coelophysis, which lived about 210 million years ago.

However, this research moves beyond speculation of the tail's importance, and mechanically demonstrates a previously unrecognised, crucial and 3D dynamic role.

RVC biomechanics professor Dr John Hutchinson, who co-authored the study, said the "results raised interesting questions about how dinosaur tails were used in a whole array of behaviours, not just including locomotion, and how these functions evolved." Enditem

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