Simulating Extinct Species

Communications of the ACM 

How did extinct animals move? Paleontologists are interested in figuring this out since it can tell us more about their ways of life, such as whether they were agile enough to hunt prey. It can also provide clues about how locomotion evolved; for example, when our ancestors started to walk upright. Researchers have come up with hypotheses about the movement of long-gone species by examining evidence such as fossilized bones or well-preserved footprints. Extinct animals can also be compared to similar living ones: comparing their limb length, for example, can give an idea of their speed of movement.