Latest news with #Anomoepus
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Over 60 Early Jurassic dinosaur footprints discovered on a rock that's been at an Australian school for two decades
Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. A remarkable Early Jurassic record has been hiding in plain sight for 20 years on a slab of rock displayed at a high school in Biloela, Australia, according to a new study. While researchers knew the 1.5-meter-long (about 5-foot-long) slab was around 200 million years old and home to an abundance of visible dinosaur footprints, the significance of the fossil remained unclear. Now, a team of paleontologists studying the rock's surface has found 66 fossilized footprints from 47 individual dinosaurs belonging to the ichnospecies Anomoepus scambu. Ichnospecies are organisms identified only through trace fossils, or fossils that are of impressions they leave, such as footprints, rather than the actual organisms. The discovery represents one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur footprints per square meter ever documented in the country, and it provides an 'unprecedented snapshot' of the abundance of dinosaurs during the Early Jurassic, a period during which no dinosaur bones have been uncovered in Australia, according to a news release from The University of Queensland. The findings were published in the journal Historical Biology on March 10. The fact that this fossil slipped under the radar for decades isn't surprising, said lead study author Dr. Anthony Romilio, a paleontologist and research associate with the university's Dinosaur Lab. 'Fossil dinosaur footprints tend to be vastly under-rated even by many (paleontologists),' Romilio said in an email. But in Australia, since the oldest fossilized dinosaur bones come from the Middle Jurassic, about 160 million years ago, 'footprint fossils are the only direct evidence our country has of the types of dinosaurs we had here (during earlier times),' Romilio said. What's more, the slab provides a rare glimpse into the behavior and activity of a dinosaur that has only been described by its footprints found in various parts of the world, experts say. By using advanced 3D imaging and light filters, Romilio was able to uncover hidden details in the stone slab, revealing the multitude of footprints and other features such as the direction in which the animals that made the tracks were headed. The 66 fossilized footprints, which range in size from about 5 centimeters to 20 centimeters (about 2 to 8 inches) in length, reveal that the dinosaurs had likely been crossing a river or going up and down the length of a river, Romilio said. Since there are no ripple marks on the surface of the rock, it is difficult to tell the river flow's direction, but the tracks clearly show the dinosaurs walking in two directions, he added. Through his analysis, Romilio found a total of 13 sequences of footprints that belonged to 13 dinosaurs that made the trackways. The remaining footprints, coming to a total of 34, were classified as isolated footprints, accounting for the 47 total individuals. The dinosaurs that made the tracks would have had legs ranging from 15 to 50 centimeters (about 6 to 20 inches) in length along with a chunky body and short arms, Romilio said. Although trace fossils are often overlooked because they are more common than dinosaur bones, they can 'provide a huge amount of information when they're properly analyzed,' said Dr. Paul Olsen, a paleontologist and Arthur D. Storke Memorial Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences at Columbia University. Olsen, who has studied Anomoepus, was not involved with this new study. '(Footprints) provide information about animals that were present even though we don't have the bones … They're really like a parallel dataset that allows us to track, pun intended, what's going on when the bones are rare. That's why they're so important,' Olsen said. From what is known about the other tracks that have been found across parts of the US, Europe, Africa and China, A. scambus was a three-toed, two-legged dinosaur that belonged to the ornithischian family, which includes other plant-eating dinosaurs such as duckbills and triceratops, and had beaks at the front of their mouths with grinding teeth, Olsen said. These new footprints, which preserve a lot of anatomical detail, further support that 'small ornithischian dinosaurs achieved a global distribution by the beginning of the Jurassic Period,' he added. The study authors also analyzed two other instances of trace fossils that were found in unexpected locations. They found that a 2,000-kilogram (about 4,400-pound) boulder used as a parking lot entry marker at the Callide mine near Biloela had two distinct footprints left by a slightly larger dinosaur. And a third rock from a personal collection (in use as a bookend) had a single footprint. The rock slab located at the high school was also originally from the Callide Mine, which is an open-cut mine, meaning that the overlying rock is removed to get to the coal underneath, Romilio explained. During the extraction of the overlying rock, which spans many miles and dates to the Early Jurassic period, fossil footprints such as these can be found. 'There are definitely many more fossils occurring there,' Romilio said. 'Whether they are spotted in time, or whether it is safe to pick them up is another thing entirely. We are just lucky that these and some others have been spotted, recovered and available for people like me to study them and share the findings.'
CNN
21-03-2025
- Science
- CNN
Over 60 Early Jurassic dinosaur footprints discovered on a rock that's been at an Australian school for two decades
A remarkable Early Jurassic record has been hiding in plain sight for 20 years on a slab of rock displayed at a high school in Biloela, Australia, according to a new study. While researchers knew the 1.5-meter-long (about 5-foot-long) slab was around 200 million years old and home to an abundance of visible dinosaur footprints, the significance of the fossil remained unclear. Now, a team of paleontologists studying the rock's surface has found 66 fossilized footprints from 47 individual dinosaurs belonging to the ichnospecies Anomoepus scambu. Ichnospecies are organisms identified only through trace fossils, or fossils that are of impressions they leave, such as footprints, rather than the actual organisms. The discovery represents one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur footprints per square meter ever documented in the country, and it provides an 'unprecedented snapshot' of the abundance of dinosaurs during the Early Jurassic, a period during which no dinosaur bones have been uncovered in Australia, according to a news release from The University of Queensland. The findings were published in the journal Historical Biology on March 10. The fact that this fossil slipped under the radar for decades isn't surprising, said lead study author Dr. Anthony Romilio, a paleontologist and research associate with the university's Dinosaur Lab. 'Fossil dinosaur footprints tend to be vastly under-rated even by many (paleontologists),' Romilio said in an email. But in Australia, since the oldest fossilized dinosaur bones come from the Middle Jurassic, about 160 million years ago, 'footprint fossils are the only direct evidence our country has of the types of dinosaurs we had here (during earlier times),' Romilio said. What's more, the slab provides a rare glimpse into the behavior and activity of a dinosaur that has only been described by its footprints found in various parts of the world, experts say. Dinosaur footprints from Early Jurassic By using advanced 3D imaging and light filters, Romilio was able to uncover hidden details in the stone slab, revealing the multitude of footprints and other features such as the direction in which the animals that made the tracks were headed. The 66 fossilized footprints, which range in size from about 5 centimeters to 20 centimeters (about 2 to 8 inches) in length, reveal that the dinosaurs had likely been crossing a river or going up and down the length of a river, Romilio said. Since there are no ripple marks on the surface of the rock, it is difficult to tell the river flow's direction, but the tracks clearly show the dinosaurs walking in two directions, he added. Through his analysis, Romilio found a total of 13 sequences of footprints that belonged to 13 dinosaurs that made the trackways. The remaining footprints, coming to a total of 34, were classified as isolated footprints, accounting for the 47 total individuals. The dinosaurs that made the tracks would have had legs ranging from 15 to 50 centimeters (about 6 to 20 inches) in length along with a chunky body and short arms, Romilio said. Although trace fossils are often overlooked because they are more common than dinosaur bones, they can 'provide a huge amount of information when they're properly analyzed,' said Dr. Paul Olsen, a paleontologist and Arthur D. Storke Memorial Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences at Columbia University. Olsen, who has studied Anomoepus, was not involved with this new study. '(Footprints) provide information about animals that were present even though we don't have the bones … They're really like a parallel dataset that allows us to track, pun intended, what's going on when the bones are rare. That's why they're so important,' Olsen said. From what is known about the other tracks that have been found across parts of the US, Europe, Africa and China, A. scambus was a three-toed, two-legged dinosaur that belonged to the ornithischian family, which includes other plant-eating dinosaurs such as duckbills and triceratops, and had beaks at the front of their mouths with grinding teeth, Olsen said. These new footprints, which preserve a lot of anatomical detail, further support that 'small ornithischian dinosaurs achieved a global distribution by the beginning of the Jurassic Period,' he added. Hidden in plain sight The study authors also analyzed two other instances of trace fossils that were found in unexpected locations. They found that a 2,000-kilogram (about 4,400-pound) boulder used as a parking lot entry marker at the Callide mine near Biloela had two distinct footprints left by a slightly larger dinosaur. And a third rock from a personal collection (in use as a bookend) had a single footprint. The rock slab located at the high school was also originally from the Callide Mine, which is an open-cut mine, meaning that the overlying rock is removed to get to the coal underneath, Romilio explained. During the extraction of the overlying rock, which spans many miles and dates to the Early Jurassic period, fossil footprints such as these can be found. 'There are definitely many more fossils occurring there,' Romilio said. 'Whether they are spotted in time, or whether it is safe to pick them up is another thing entirely. We are just lucky that these and some others have been spotted, recovered and available for people like me to study them and share the findings.'
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Paleontologists Discover 200-Million-Year-Old Dino Footprints in Plain Sight
A set of 200-million-year-old dinosaur footprints has been discovered at an elementary school, Ancient Origins reported. The remarkably rare discovery has been residing at a small school in Queensland, Australia's Banana Shire for the last 20-odd years, waiting to be discovered. Recently, school officials became curious about a pattern of tightly clustered footprints and asked University of Queensland paleontologist Anthony Romilio, who's also known to be a successful fossil hunter, to take a look at the peculiar formation. But Romilio was unprepared for what he was about to discover. The relatively small rock contained "one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur footprints" ever found in Australia. "It's an unprecedented snapshot of dinosaur abundance, movement, and behavior from a time when no fossilized dinosaur bones have been found in Australia," Romilio explained. "Significant fossils like this can sit unnoticed for years, even in plain sight. It's incredible to think that a piece of history this rich was resting in a schoolyard all this time."Romilio posited that part of the reason why the rock was left undisturbed for so long was because many likely assumed the dinosaur footprints, which number 66, were faux. "Some of the teachers thought this was a replica rather than the real thing," he said. "Everyone didn't quite realize what they actually have. They definitely knew it was a dinosaur footprint. But not the level of detail that a researcher like myself would go into." After extensive studies and test to track dinosaurs' movement throughout the region, Romilio and his colleagues determined that the tracks belonged to a dinosaur known as Anomoepus scambu. 'Dinosaur footprints have been reported from the Lower Jurassic Precipice Sandstone of the Callide Basin, Queensland, for over three decades, yet only a single track has been described until now, ' Romilio explained. 'This study reports additional tracks on three ex-situ surfaces not previously described. These pedal impressions are assignable to the ichnospecies Anomoepus scambus.' Following the identification of the dinosaur's species, Romilio conducted several further experiments. Based on those findings, he hypothesizes that Anomoepus scambu's hips were between eight and 30 inches wide and that they would not have walked faster than roughly 3.6 miles-per-hour. While Romilio expressed some surprise that the fossil had gone undiscovered for so long, he was hardly shocked. "The vast majority of dinosaur fossils, they're not found by paleontologists,' he said. 'They're actually found by people on the ground.'
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Dozens of dinosaur footprints found at Australian school, scientists say
Dozens of dinosaur footprints embedded in a boulder were found hiding in plain sight at a school in Australia, according to researchers. The large rock was excavated from the Callide Basin in central Queensland and gifted to the Moura State High School, where it sat unnoticed for two decades, according to the University of Queensland. MORE: What scientists learned from a well-preserved fossil of this iconic Jurassic-era species When paleontologists were asked by the school to examine a cluster of three-toed track marks on the boulder, they found it contains one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur footprints per square meter ever documented in the country, according to a paper published Monday in Historical Biology. The rock contains 66 footprints from 47 individual dinosaurs, Anthony Romilio, a paleontologist at the University of Queensland and lead author of the study, said in a statement. The footprints were likely imprinted onto the boulder as the dinosaurs passed across a patch of wet, white clay, possibly walking along or crossing a waterway during the Early Jurassic period, about 200 million years ago, Romilio said. "It's an unprecedented snapshot of dinosaur abundance, movement and behavior from a time when no fossilized dinosaur bones have been found in Australia," Romilio said. MORE: Well-preserved remains of saber-toothed kitten found frozen in Russian tundra, researchers say Each footprint has three toes, indicating that they belong to the ichnospecies Anomoepus scambus, small dinosaurs with legs between 6 inches and 20 inches, Romilio said. They were likely traveling less than 4 mph, the researchers determined. Skeletal fossils from dinosaurs with these types of feet indicate that they were likely plant eaters with long legs, a chunky body and short arms, Romilio said. MORE: How the process of de-extinction will be used to restore this fabled species While the boulder was resting in the schoolyard for years, advanced 3D imaging and light filters were able to reveal the hidden details in the footprints, Romilio said. "It's incredible to think that a piece of history this rich was resting in a schoolyard all this time," he said. Dozens of dinosaur footprints found at Australian school, scientists say originally appeared on
Khaleej Times
12-03-2025
- Science
- Khaleej Times
Trove of dinosaur footprints found at Australian school
A trove of fossilised dinosaur footprints has been found on a slab of rock gathering dust inside an Australian school, scientists said on Wednesday. The rock went largely unnoticed for 20 years until the school, in Queensland's rural Banana shire, asked paleontologist Anthony Romilio to examine a cluster of three-toed track marks. Romilio said the slab was stamped with dozens of fossilised footprints dating to the early Jurassic period some 200 million years ago. It showed "one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur footprints" ever documented in Australia, he said. "It's an unprecedented snapshot of dinosaur abundance, movement and behaviour from a time when no fossilised dinosaur bones have been found in Australia," said Romilio, from the University of Queensland. "Significant fossils like this can sit unnoticed for years, even in plain sight. "It's incredible to think that a piece of history this rich was resting in a schoolyard all this time." Coal miners dug up the slab in 2002 and, noticing the unusual footprints, gifted it to a school in the small town of Biloela, where it was eventually displayed in the foyer. The rock sat there until researchers started asking around for any dinosaur fossils discovered in the area. "Some of the teachers thought this was a replica rather than the real thing," Romilio said. "Everyone didn't quite realise what they actually have. "They definitely knew it was a dinosaur footprint. But not the level of detail that a researcher like myself would go into." 'My jaw dropped' Romilio said 66 separate track impressions were found on the slab, which had a surface area of less than one square metre. They belonged to a dinosaur called Anomoepus scambu s -- a small and chunky plant eater that walked on two legs, he said. "Fossilised footprints, even though they are the most abundant of dinosaur fossils, tend to be cast aside by a lot of researchers. "They don't have the sex appeal of a fossilised bone. "The vast majority of dinosaur fossils, they're not found by paleontologists. They're actually found by people on the ground." Romilio's hunt for fossils in the region also unearthed a two-tonne boulder marking the entrance to a coal mine car park. "As I'm driving into the car park, I see one of those car park boulders to stop cars from driving on the lawn. "And it's got this clear-as-day dinosaur fossil. My jaw dropped when I saw that." Romilio and a team of researchers published their findings in peer-reviewed journal Historical Biology.
