China Reports Thousands of Dinosaur Footprints
More than 3,000 dinosaur footprints, all facing the same way, have been discovered by researchers after a three-month excavation in the eastern Shandong province of China. Possibly representing a migration or panicked stampede, both the quantity and size of the prints distinguish this amazing discovery.
Estimated to be more than 100 million years old and dating back to the mid Cretaceous period, dinosaur remains have been found in more than thirty sites in the Zhucheng area. Hence, the moniker, “dinosaur city.”
The prints range in size from 4 to 32 inches long and are thought to belong to at least six different dinosaur types including: Tyrannosaurs, Coelurosaurs and Hadrosaurs.
The area is said to be the world’s largest grouping of fossilized dinosaur bones. Since 1964, there have been two major digs in this region and experts believe the large numbers of dinosaurs found could provide vital clues about their extinction so many millions of years ago.
“The footprints were in the same direction, indicating the dinosaurs were either migrating or fleeing their meat-eating counterparts,” said Wang Haijun, a senior engineer at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
It is possible that even more footprints may be uncovered as the excavation continues. At this time, plans are being made to set up a fossil park in the area.
As the mysteries of the ancient world slowly come to light, they tend to only raise more questions about the essence of these extinct creatures and the dynamic riddle their existence posed as to their place in the universe’s eternal balance of nature.
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By MDeeDubroff on 17-03-2010
