For Immediate Release Contact: Pat Kremer (312) 665-7100 (For Media Use Only) Heads Up? The Biomechanics of Sauropods The graceful arc of gleaming steel may look like a sculpture, but this life-size model of an Apatasaurus is a three-dimensional version of a digital dinosaur created by a software program, DinoMorph™, based on detailed measurements of real fossils. Scientists used the program to investigate questions about range of motion; for example: Did Apatosaurus use its neck like a giraffe, to scan for predators and nibble trees? You can watch the wide-screen animation behind the model to find out; it starts with a wireframe model that morphs into bone, then layers on muscles and skin. Try out DinoMorph yourself and explore where Apatosaurus could take that incredible neck. And don’t forget the other end of the dinosaur: in this section you’ll discover what computer models reveal about the sauropod’s whip-like tail. Track Record: Using New Technology to Reinterpret Old Evidence One day, about 100 million years ago, a herd of long-necked, plant-eating dinosaurs trekked their way across a mudflat. Like a herd of elephants, the larger ones walked ahead while the juveniles trailed behind. Sometime later, a large meat-eating dinosaur crossed the path they’d trod. All this information is contained in the life-size replica of a trackway that offers new insight into dinosaur behavior. Colored lighting displays let you decode the trackway and follow the footsteps of individual dinosaurs, just as scientists have recently done in order to study herd behavior. You’ll uncover some of the secrets of “DSI” (that’s dinosaur scene investigators), like how they calculate an animal’s size, speed, the kind of food it ate – and whether or not it walked like a bird. Fighting or Flirting? What to Do with a Horned Head Rows of impressive dinosaur skulls are displayed along the exhibition’s “trophy wall.” Horns and crests and bony frills rise from the ancient fossils, looking for all the world like Medieval arms and armor. But looks can be deceiving. The Field Museum’s dinosaur curator, Dr. Peter Makovicky, has studied several of the most recently discovered, smallest, and most primitive of these species, seeking, among other things, an explanation for these bizarre features. Did they protect the animal in battle? Anchor powerful muscles? Help the dinosaurs stay cool? Or act as displays to help attract a mate? Recently, as Makovicky and his colleagues explain in this section’s video, scientists have come to another conclusion: the uses most likely evolved and changed over time, along with the physical structures themselves. Find out how new discoveries and research methods are helping paleontologists understand this fascinating aspect of dinosaur form and function. Then reach out and touch a real fossilized Triceratops horn. Continue>>