Arctometatarsalian
Encyclopedia
An arctometatarsalian organism is one in which the proximal part of the third metatarsal is pinched between metatarsals II and IV. The trait appears to be highly homoplastic, common in certain sorts of dinosaur
s accustomed to running (among them the tyrannosaurids), to evenly transmit force to the metatarsals.
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s accustomed to running (among them the tyrannosaurids), to evenly transmit force to the metatarsals.