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Dinosaur Footprints in China

This article will cover detailed information about Dinosaur Footprints in China

Why in the News?

Scientists have discovered over 4,300 dinosaur footprints in Hebei province of Zhangjiakou in northern China.

Key Points:

About

Dinosaur Footprints

  • The footprints were made between the Jurassic and Cretaceous ages, around 150 million years ago.
  • The footprints show four different dinosaur species, one of which might be undiscovered.
  • that the footprints belong to herbivores and carnivores dinosaurs; while the former could reach lengths of nearly 15 metres, the latter was four to five metres.

What do dinosaur footprints tell us?

  • Dinosaur tracks denote the activity of an animal when it was alive
    • “Trackway sites tell us about the types of dinosaurs that lived in the original ecosystems.
  • Paleontologists also study dinosaur gait and speed from the footprint tracks.
    • For instance, footprints close together indicate the animals were running, while spaced footprints mean they were walking.