Walk like a bird, breath like a gator:new clues to the dinosaur's active life

New research on the respiratory system of alligators helps explain why dinosaurs, unlike modern lizards, could lead such an active, running around life.

A combination of anatomical factors, including a newly discovered mobile hip bone, which allow the alligator to run and breath at the same time, are found in many dinosaurs and desendant birds as well. Lizards, on the other hand, must hold their breath when they run.

"Our hypothesis is dinosaurs were much more active and [alligators] have reverted back to a sit-and-wait lifestyle," says Dr Colleen Farmer, a biologist at the University of Utah, where the tests took place.

Read the full article, with diagrams, here.