A remarkable slab of 200-million-year-old rock at Biloela State High School in Queensland, Australia, contains 66 footprints from 47 individual dinosaurs, attracting significant attention from the scientific community.
This valuable slab was donated to the school by a nearby coal mine, where it was discovered by miners. Although the rock was initially recognized for its dinosaur footprints, its crucial importance became apparent only after an in-depth examination by a research team.
The slab’s weight made it a challenge to reposition it for study, especially after it had been partially obscured by chewing gum left by students. After creating a 3D silicon model and processing photographs, the full significance of the fossil was unveiled.
While no fossil bones or dinosaur skeletons from the Early Jurassic Epoch have been identified in Australia, researchers have tentatively attributed the footprints to the ichnospecies Anomoepus scambus, known primarily from trace fossils like footprints and nests.
The size of the three-toed footprints suggests the dinosaurs had hip heights ranging from 20 to 76 centimeters and were likely traversing at speeds between 2 to 6 kilometers per hour. Evidence indicates that the prints were made by small, plant-eating dinosaurs.
At the time of their passage, the site would have been characterized by a silty ground surface beneath a shallow layer of water. Accompanying the dinosaur footprints, the slab also contains holes made by burrowing invertebrates, hinting at a vibrant ecosystem of the Jurassic period.
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