200-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Footprints Found On A Rock Slab In Australia School
In a remarkable find, paleontologists have discovered 66 dinosaur footprints embedded in a rock slab at Biloela State High School in Queensland, Australia. This slab, which has been on display at the school for over two decades, dates back approximately 200 million years to the early Jurassic period. The discovery was confirmed by Anthony Romilio, a paleontologist from the University of Queensland, who noted that this is one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur footprints ever documented in Australia.
The footprints are attributed to small-bodied, two-legged herbivorous dinosaurs, specifically the ichnospecies Anomoepus scambus. The largest of these tracks measures about 30 inches at the hip, and the dinosaurs that made them likely had hip heights ranging from 20 to 76 centimeters. They were estimated to have been moving at speeds between 2 and 6 kilometers per hour.
The rock slab was originally discovered by coal miners in 2002 and was donated to the school after they recognized its significance. Initially thought to be a replica, it wasn’t until Romilio’s examination that the true value of the fossil was realized. His research involved creating a 3D model of the footprints to reveal details not visible to the naked eye.
This discovery is particularly significant as no dinosaur bones from this period have been found in Australia, making these footprints a crucial piece of evidence for understanding dinosaur behavior and movement during a time when body fossils are absent in the region.
