Ancient Dinosaur Footprints Discovered on High School Rock Preserve, Remaining Unnoticed for Several Decades
In the heart of the Jurassic epoch, around 200 million years ago, our planet witnessed a spectacular revival of life, bouncing back from one of the catastrophic extinction events in its history. Despite the lack of fossilized dinosaur bones discovered in Australia during that time, these ancient beasts left an undeniable impression.
A recent study, published in the Journal of Historical Biology, sheds light on the highest concentration of dinosaur footprints per square meter ever found in Australia. Incredibly, this significant slab of rock had been sitting in a high school for decades, unnoticed by paleontologists.
Lead author of the study, Anthony Romilio, a paleontologist from the University of Queensland, shared that these 200-million-year-old footprints "represent 47 individual dinosaurs which passed across a patch of wet, white clay, possibly walking along or crossing a waterway." This discover gives us an extraordinary glimpse into the abundance, movement, and behavior of dinosaurs during this era, where no fossilized bones have been uncovered in Australia.
Romilio meticulously documented 66 footprints on the rock's surface using a cast, 3D imaging, and light filters. These prints belonged to the ichnospecies Anomoepus scambus, small herbivores with long legs, short arms, a beak, and a "hefty physique." As these sturdy dinosaurs crossed the wet clay, they moved at a leisurely pace of less than 6 kilometers per hour.
The boulder was initially discovered at a coal mine near Biloela, Central Queensland, two decades ago. It later made its way to a high school, where it lay forgotten until the community drew attention to it after learning about Romilio's previous research on dinosaur footprints.
"Valuable fossils like this can often sit unnoticed for years, even in plain sight," Romilio pointed out. "It's astonishing to think that a piece of history this rich was resting in a schoolyard all this time."
Furthermore, Romilio and his team identified another set of footprints in the same region, this time being used as a carpark entry delineator at Callide Mine. This specimen contains two distinct footprints of a larger, two-legged dinosaur.
"Thanks to this study and additional samples from a third rock that was serving as a bookend, we've gained fresh insights into the ancient past in this region," Romilio concluded. If you've got an antique stone doorstop at home that's been collecting dust, take a second look—it just might hold secrets from the Jurassic era!
- The study adds to our knowledge of the Jurassic era by identifying a previously unnoticed high concentration of dinosaur footprints in Australia.
- The footprints on the significant slab of rock were left by 47 individual dinosaurs, possibly herbivores of the ichnospecies Anomoepus scambus, moving at a slow pace of less than 6 kilometers per hour.
- Beyond the initial slab, Romilio and his team also discovered another set of footprints at Callide Mine, this time belonging to a larger, two-legged dinosaur.
- Romilio emphasizes that valuable fossils like these can often sit unnoticed for years, even in plain sight, suggesting that seemingly ordinary antique stones could hold secrets from the Jurassic era.
