Tyrannosaurs could run faster than previously thought, says new research

When you think about how a T. rex might have moved, you probably imagine one stomping around and making the ground shake.

But new research by scientists in the US has found that the ferocious dino might have preferred to tiptoe.

The study - which was led by a team at the College of the Atlantic in Maine - also suggests that the creatures were up to 20% faster than was previously thought.

It suggests that a small T. rex could have reached a top speed of 11.4 metres per second - which is equal to around 24.6 miles per hour!

In previous studies of T. rex footprints, scientists had thought that the dino's heels struck the ground first as it walked.

But this new research suggests its toes were more likely to have hit the ground first – a bit like a bird or a human as they run.

The study, which was published in the Royal Society Open Science journal, also found that the fearsome dinos took shorter steps, but more often and at faster speeds.

This means a small T-rex could have run 100 metres in only 8.77 seconds - beating Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt's world record by 0.81 seconds!

Even bigger T. rex could move speedily - researchers studied one weighing 6.5 tonnes, believing it could still move at 9.5 metres per second, allowing it to cover 100 metres in 10.52 seconds.