“Unbelievable Discovery: High School Office Reveals Ancient Dinosaur Footprints Hidden for Millennia!”
University of QueenslandDr. Anthony Romilio of the University of Queensland Dinosaur Lab with the stone slab covered in dinosaur footprints.
Indeed, the stone that was all but forgotten in a high school foyer contains “one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur footprints” ever found in Australia. Specifically, it’s preserved 66 footprints from 47 individual dinosaurs who walked across its surface some 200 million years ago.
“It’s an unprecedented snapshot of dinosaur abundance, movement and behaviour from a time when no fossilised dinosaur bones have been found in Australia,” Romilio said in a University of Queensland statement.
The Dinosaurs Who Left Behind Their Footprints
After closely examining the stone, Romilio was able to “reveal hidden details in the footprints.” The prints each had three toes, which indicates that they were left by the species Anomoepus scambus.
University of QueenslandThe prints were left by Anomoepus scambus some 200 million years ago.
“Evidence from skeletal fossils overseas tells us dinosaurs with feet like these were plant eaters with long legs, a chunky body, short arms, and a small head with a beak,” Romilio explained.
Some 200 million years ago, several dozen of them left their prints on the stone. According to Romilio, they were moving slowly — just about three miles per hour — when they walked over a swath of wet clay.
“These footprints, which are globally recognized from the Early Jurassic period, were first described in the 1800s,” Romilio told All That’s Interesting. “The specimens from our study reveal that these small dinosaurs were highly abundant across ancient Queensland, often frequenting the shallows of broad river systems. This particular site suggests many of them were crossing a river together, possibly moving as a group. The pace and arrangement of the footprints indicate that they were walking, not rushing, providing a glimpse into their movement behaviours during that time.”
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