Prehistoric podiatry: How dinosaurs carried their enormous weight

Computer modelling showed sauropod feet had a soft tissue pad. Image: Dr Andreas Jannel Scientists have cracked an enduring mystery, discovering how sauropod dinosaurs - like Brontosaurus and Diplodocus - supported their gigantic bodies on land. A University of Queensland and Monash University-led team used 3D modelling and engineering methods to digitally reconstruct and test the foot bones. Dr Andréas Jannel , who conducted the research during his PhD studies at UQ's Dinosaur Lab , said the team found the sauropod's hind feet had a soft tissue pad beneath the 'heel', cushioning the foot to absorb their immense weight. "We've finally confirmed a long-suspected idea and provided biomechanical evidence that a soft tissue pad would have played a crucial role in reducing locomotor pressures and bone stresses," Dr Jannel said. "It is mind-blowing to imagine that these giant creatures could have been able to support their own weight on land." Sauropods were the largest terrestrial animals that roamed the Earth for more than 100 million years. They were first thought to have been semi-aquatic with water buoyancy supporting their massive weight, a theory disproved by the discovery of sauropod tracks in terrestrial deposits in the mid-twentieth century.