It is believed that modern birds originated from several species of dinosaurs, and the transitional form between them
The researchers decided to test this hypothesis - theycreated a robot, the shape and movements of which repeat the shape of Caudipterix - a larger peacock-sized animal, which is the earliest known flightless dinosaur with wings.
The flapping wing movement developed passively andnaturally, when a dinosaur ran on the ground. Although this movement could not lift a dinosaur into the air, we saw that flapping wings could have evolved earlier than planning.
Ching-Shan Zhao, lead author of the study
Previously, engineers from Humboldt University andPolytechnic school of Lausanne using computer simulation and four-legged robot recreated the gait of one of the first reptiles on Earth - Orobates pabsti. She lived on our planet almost 260 million years ago.