that Euparkeria could not have held its legs in a fully erect posture beneath its body, but would have held them slightly out to the side as in modern crocodilians and most other quadrupedal Triassic archosauriforms. Euparkeria has a large backward-pointing projection on the calcaneum (an ankle bone) that would have given strong leverage to the ankle during locomotion. A calcaneal projection might have enabled Euparkeria to move with all four limbs in a semi-erect "high walk" similar to the way in which living crocodilians sometimes move about on land. A 2020 study of range of motion in the hindlimbs of Euparkeria found conflicting evidence for its posture. The structure of the femur (thigh bone) and hip socket suggest that the legs were capable of a very wide range of motion, ranging from a nearly vertical stance to a thigh which projects forwards, backwards, or outwards at a nearly horizontal angle. Rotation of the thigh was more limited, a factor that argues against a sprawling gait reliant on broad outward leg sweeps. Although the hip socket argues in favor of an upright 'pillar-erect' hindlimb stance, the structure of the tibia (inner shin bone) and ankle show that the lower legs and feet would have splayed outwards during normal usage, supporting a semi-erect rather than fully erect stance. The hindlimbs of Euparkeria have been used to argue that the evolution of a fully erect gait in true archosaurs was a stepwise process which first developed in bones closer to the hip. A 2023 paper analyzed the possibility of facultative bipedalism and came to the conclusion that Euparkeria was quadrupedal at all times. Models of weight distribution found that the center of mass for Euparkeria was far in front of the hips, meaning that a body held horizontally during a bipedal stance would have to fight against a very large forward pitching moment. This pitching moment far exceeds that of modern long-limbed lizards capable of facultative bipedalism. The pitching moment would only stabilize if the body was held up at an implausibly high angle (>60 degrees), regardless of how the tail was held. In addition, models of muscle activation indicate that the ankle plantarflexor group (the muscles which bend the foot down to maintain stability) would have been overexerted to the point of failure if a bipedal posture was attempted by the animal. Nocturnality Some specimens of Euparkeria preserve bony rings in