A worker excavating clay in an English limestone quarry has discovered a “dinosaur highway” made up of 200 tracks dating back 166 million years. The Oxfordshire footprints include a mixture of herbivore footprints and at least one carnivore. Most dinosaurs’ toes pointed north.
So who were these creatures, where were they going, and why were they going there?
At least four sets of tracks were likely made by the long-necked herbivore Cetiosaurus, a dinosaur that grew to nearly 60 feet long. Another set resembles the distinctive three-toed feet of the megalosaurus, a 30-foot-long predator. One extension shows the intersection of the paths of carnivores and herbivores, raising questions about whether and how the two interact.
Richard J. Butler, A University of Birmingham paleontologist, who worked at the site, applied some deductive logic to determine the dinosaurs’ intentions.
“Most of the tracks appear to be heading in the same direction (broadly north), perhaps following the coastline,” says Butler. “The herbivores must have been headed somewhere with food, because there was no vegetation on the mudflats where tracks are preferred. One possibility is that the carnivores may have been following/shading herds of herbivores.”
Read more: Why is the Isle of Wight rich in dinosaur fossils?
Sauropod Sweet Spot
The location of southeastern England appears to have been a great place for sauropods. The first megalosaurus bones were found 15 miles away in 1824, essentially launching the science of dinosaurs. Then in 1997, researchers found similar footprints a half-mile away, but in a different quarry with the same type of rock. It is possible that the two are connected.
“It’s on the same limestone surface, so the 1990s finds and the new discoveries actually form parts of a massive track site,” Butler says.
Together, the sites document hungry sauropods that were likely on a constant march in search of food.
“Clearly a lot of large sauropods were traveling through this particular area, probably in herds,” Butler says. “Where were they traveling? It’s unclear, but it must have been somewhere with plants, because these giant herbivores need to consume a lot of plants every day.”
Read more: Dinosaur prints in Jordan highlight a largely unexplored area
Documenting the past
Until this summer’s discovery, this former site was considered the most scientifically important collection of dinosaur prints. However, it was buried and is now largely inaccessible.
The new fate is unlikely to befall new people. It has already become well documented. Scientists took more than 20,000 digital images and used drones to create 3D models of the prints. Paleontologists will rely on this data to help understand each dinosaur’s size, stride, and speed. The quality of the tracks would make such calculations easier and help reconstruct the world in which these dinosaurs roamed.
“The preservation process is so detailed that we can see how the clay deformed as the dinosaur’s feet squeezed in and out.” Duncan MurdockAn earth scientist at the Oxford Museum and one of the scientists studying the scene in A press release. “Along with other fossils such as burrows, shells and plants, we can bring back to life the muddy lake environment that dinosaurs experienced.”
condition sources
Our book in discovermagazine.com We use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
Before joining Discover magazine, Paul Smaglic spent more than 20 years as a science journalist specializing in American life sciences policy and issues in the global scientific profession. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific journals. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.