Many dinosaur footprints on the rocks of Australian schools

The 200 million-year-old rock slab, on display at a school in Queensland in Australia for 20 years, contains 66 footprints from 47 dinosaurs.

The rock was presented to Biloela State High School by a nearby Kalido mine, where it was discovered by coal miners. It was perceived to include numerous dinosaur footprints, but no one realized its true importance until the team led it. Anthony Romillio I visited the school at Queensland University.

“We found out there were lots of dinosaur footprints,” says Romilio. “I knew it was a very important discovery.”

The slab is so heavy that it has been lifted into a position where several strong people can study it. Romilio also had to remove the chewing gum that had been stuck in school students.

However, the full scope of the discovery was revealed until he casted 3D silicon models, took photos and processed them.

“As a paleontologist, I knew I had found a very important specimen,” says Romilio.

Fossil bones are not related to footprints and no dinosaur skeletons from early Jurassic epochs have been found in Australia, making it impossible to know exactly which species left the track. However, the researchers assigned them anomaepus scambus, ICHNOSPECIES – Species known only from trace fossils of footprints, nests, feces, etc. – It was first discovered in the United States.

Based on the size of the three final footprints, researchers estimate that the dinosaurs had waist heights of 20-76 centimeters and walked at 2-6 kilometres per hour.

“They are all small animals that created the footprint,” says Romilio. “They all look like dinosaurs eating two-legged plants of the same type.”

The ground would have been a silent surface under shallow water as the dinosaurs walked across the property. Alongside the dinosaur prints, the slab has holes, presumably made by invertebrates who dig holes.