Due to lack of water, previously hidden dinosaur footprints likely to be around 113 million years old have come to light in a dried-up river bed, an official reported Tuesday (August 23rd). from a park in Texas, USA. These deep traces were previously buried, filled with sediment and covered with water, which helped in their preservation.
“Due to excessively dry conditions this summer, the river has completely dried up in most places, which has revealed new tracks in the park,” said Stephanie Salinas Garcia, of the Department in charge of parks. and wildlife of Texas. Their discovery delighted the employees of this park, located near the city of Dallas and named “Dinosaur Valley” because of the presence of many dinosaur tracks in its enclosure.
It could be one of the longest sequences of dinosaur footprints in the world, according to the caption of these impressive images posted by the park on its Facebook page. We see volunteers helping to clean them in order to better distinguish them. According to the BBC, 140 traces were discovered in total.
Footprints 113 million years old
“Most of the tracks that have recently been discovered in different places on the river in the park were left by an Acrocanthosaurus,” said Stephanie Salinas Garcia. Adult, this theropod could measure five meters and weigh seven tons. The Sauroposeidon is the other species of dinosaurs that left its mark in the park, and could measure up to 18 meters high with its long neck and weigh 44 tons as an adult. “Dinosaur tracks in the park date back 113 million years,” added Stephanie Salinas Garcia. According to the park, Acrocanthosaurus footprints had not been seen since 2000.
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The park opened in 1972 to protect these ancient traces, according to its site. But the curious will not be able to admire these new prehistoric footsteps for long, because they will soon be covered with water again with the arrival of the rain.