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Watch video of 166-million-year-old ‘dinosaur highway’ found in England
Researchers have uncovered a “dinosaur highway” after hundreds of giant prehistoric footprints dating back 166 million years were found in an English quarry.
Discovered at the Dewars Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire, southern England, the prints are believed to be from the middle Jurassic era, researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Birmingham said in a statement.
The team found five “extensive trackways” of enormous size, measuring as large as 150 meters (or 492 feet) in length, theorized to belong to several different creatures. The tracks even converge at one point, leaving scientists to wonder if the creatures that left them interacted during their voyage, reported Reuters.
Tracks were of herbivores and carnivores
Four of the track sets were made by sauropods, the giant, long-necked herbivores we generally picture as gentle giants chomping on leaves from tall branches. In this case, the footprints were likely left by Cetiosaurus (meaning “whale lizard”), the up to 18-meter (59-foot) long cousin of the Diplodocus, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
At one point erroneously believed to be water dwellers, these huge, land-dwelling herbivores had small heads and shorter necks and tails than most other sauropods.
The fifth set of tracks, alternatively, were made by a carnivore called Megalosaurus, reported Reuters. Megalosaurus was a theropod, a class of dinosaurs that were ancestrally carnivorous, bipedal and characterized by hollow, bird-like bones and three toes with claws. Think T-Rex and Velociraptor.
Megalosaurus also carries the honor of being the first dinosaur to be scientifically named and described in 1824.
“Scientists have known about and been studying Megalosaurus for longer than any other dinosaur on Earth, and yet these recent discoveries prove there is still new evidence of these animals out there, waiting to be found,” Emma Nicholls, vertebrate paleontologist at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, SAID in a statement.
200 footprints uncovered
The discovery took a team of more than 100 researchers who began excavating the site in June after a quarry worker reported feeling “unusual bumps” while working in the area. The excavation uncovered around 200 footprints, said the universities.
Contributing: Paul Sandle, Reuters
Check out this incredible video of the recently discovered ‘dinosaur highway’ in England, dating back 166 million years! Scientists have unearthed a trackway of footprints left by dinosaurs as they roamed the area millions of years ago. The site provides a fascinating glimpse into the lives of these ancient creatures and their movements. Watch the video to see the amazing traces of these prehistoric giants and learn more about this remarkable discovery! #DinosaurHighway #AncientFootprints #PaleontologyDiscovery
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