Latest news with #DinosaurProvincialPark
Yahoo
a day ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Stunning Dinosaur Tracks Appear to Show Something Never Seen Before
Roughly 76 million years ago, a herd of herbivorous dinosaurs left a trail of footprints that reveals different species may have walked together – and been stalked together, too. An international team of paleontologists discovered the trackways preserved in ironstone at Canada's Dinosaur Provincial Park. This area is known for its remarkable fossil specimens, but these are the first good set of tracks found in the area. They reveal something fascinating: tracks from at least five ceratopsian dinosaurs appear alongside those of an ankylosaurid, meaning this could be the first evidence of multi-species herding among dinosaurs. Related: However, while the researchers can confirm these footprints were formed at around the same time, there could be hours or days separating them. "Ceratopsians have long been suspected to have lived in herds due to the existence of bone beds which preserve multiple individuals of the same species together," says paleontologist Jack Lovegrove from the Natural History Museum in London. "However, these bone beds only tell us for certain that these animals died together or the bodies accumulated after death. The preserved trackways of several ceratopsians walking together in a group is rare evidence for these animals living together." The positioning of these footprints suggest the animals were visiting a water source, perhaps following an ancient river. Eerily, other sets of tracks running parallel to the waterline betray predators in the midst: two tyrannosaurs and another small, meat-eating dinosaur, possibly a therapod. "The tyrannosaur tracks give the sense that they were really eyeing up the herd, which is a pretty chilling thought, but we don't know for certain whether they actually crossed paths," says paleontologist Phil Bell from the University of New England in Australia. Even if this is more of a montage of cretaceous life, as Lovegrove puts it, it has enabled the researchers to identify many more trackways within the park, which promises much more detail on how these creatures lived alongside each other. The research was published in PLOS One. Related News Octopuses Fall For The Classic Fake Arm Trick – Just Like We Do Bone-Eating Worms Have Lurked in The Ocean For 100 Million Years Ancient Voice Box Finally Reveals How Dinosaurs May Have Sounded Solve the daily Crossword
The Independent
24-07-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Groundbreaking fossil footprints reveal dinosaurs of different species herded together
Fossil footprints discovered in Canada show that different dinosaur species sometimes herded together, shedding more light on social interaction among the prehistoric beasts. The footprints at the Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada, is the first discovery of its kind. An analysis of the fossil site, detailed in the journal PLOS One, provides the first piece of concrete evidence of mixed species herding behaviour among dinosaurs, similar to how modern wildebeest and zebra travel together on the African plains. Researchers, including from the University of Reading in the UK, say they were surprised to find fossil tracks of a pair of tyrannosaurs walking side by side and perpendicular to the multi-species herd. Such multispecies herding could have been a defence strategy against common apex predators like T rexes, the researchers said. The researchers found 13 horned dinosaur tracks from at least five animals walking side by side on the 30 square meters of the fossil site unearthed so far. They also noticed tracks indicating that an armoured dinosaur like the ankylosaurus walked in the midst of the herd. The fossil track site, extending into a hillside at the park, also bore the footprint of what may have been a small meat-eating dinosaur. 'I've collected dinosaur bones in Dinosaur Provincial Park for nearly 20 years, but I'd never given footprints much thought. This rim of rock had the look of mud that had been squelched out between your toes and I was immediately intrigued,' Phil Bell, one of the study's authors from the University of New England, said. "The tyrannosaur tracks give the sense that they were eyeing up the herd, which is a pretty chilling thought, but we don't know for certain whether they crossed paths.' The researchers discovered several more track sites within the varied terrain of the park, which they said were still to be properly scrutinised. 'It was incredibly exciting to be walking in the footsteps of dinosaurs 76 million years after they laid them down,' said Brian Pickles, another study author from the University of Reading. Further digs at the site could unravel more details about how dinosaurs of different species interacted with each other and behaved in their natural environment, Dr Pickles said. 'Dinosaur Park is one of the best-understood dinosaur assemblages globally with more than a century of intense collection and study,' Caleb Brown, another author of the study, said, 'but it's only now that we are getting a sense for its full potential for dinosaur trackways.'
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Dinosaurs roamed in multi-species herds, fossilized footprints show
In Africa, wildebeest and zebra roam the plains in multi-species herds. The blended communities aren't random animal amalgamations–zoologists believe the populations coalesce for mutual defense against predators. But based on recently discovered footprints in Alberta, Canada, paleontologists now suspect the tactic isn't a modern evolutionary development—even dinosaurs may have participated in similar multi-species herding patterns. The findings made at the Dinosaur Provincial Park UNESCO World Heritage Site were detailed in a study published in the journal PLOS One. The environment of present-day Alberta is radically different from its Cretaceous Era past. Instead of windswept fields and rugged, snowy mountains, the region's lush, subtropical conditions of 76 million years ago provided ample resources for both terrestrial and flying dinosaurs. Species including the Tyrannosaurus rex walked beside eastward flowing rivers that emptied into a warm, inland sea populated by ancient fish, marine reptiles, and sharks. Since 1979, Dinosaur Provincial Park has provided paleontologists with troves of fossilized remains, mostly in the form of skeletons and bone fragments. But until recently, many researchers didn't dedicate much time to locating any potential footprints left behind by the various species. 'I've collected dinosaur bones in Dinosaur Provincial Park for nearly 20 years, but I'd never given footprints much thought,' University of New England paleontologist Phil Bell said in a statement. In July 2024, Bell and an international team of colleagues visited the park for a field course. While there, they discovered a set of at least 20 full and partial dinosaur footprints preserved in a roughly 312-square-foot section of sediment. But unlike past finds, the tracks didn't all belong to one type of dinosaur. Instead, paleontologists eventually matched them to multiple different species. A total of 13 prints were linked to at least five ceratopsian (horned) dinosaurs walking side-by-side, while another grouping likely indicates the presence of an ankylosaurid among them. One footprint also appears to belong to a small, unidentified carnivorous species. 'It was incredibly exciting to be walking in the footsteps of dinosaurs 76 million years after they laid them down,' recalled University of Reading paleontologist and study co-author Brian Pickles. But it was the discovery of two additional footprint sets perpendicular to the herd that potentially provide the best context to the Cretaceous era snapshot. Not far away, a duo of large tyrannosaurs appear to have been stalking the other dinosaurs. Unfortunately, the team's excavation work couldn't yield any evidence of an outcome to the tense moment. 'The tyrannosaur tracks give the sense that they were really eyeing up the herd, which is a pretty chilling thought, but we don't know for certain whether they actually crossed paths,' Bell explained. Regardless, the confirmation of mixed species dinosaur herding behavior represents a major moment in paleontology, one that could soon open up new possibilities and research opportunities. The team is already eyeing future locations to examine. 'Using the new search images for these footprints, we have been able to discover several more tracksites within the varied terrain of the Park,' Pickles said. 'I am sure [they] will tell us even more about how these fascinating creatures interacted with each other and behaved in their natural environment.' Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Different dinosaur species may have really traveled together like in the movies
Across the African savanna, zebras and wildebeests travel together in massive herds often peppered with impalas and gazelles. The larger the herd, the safer its members are from predators like lions, hyenas and African wild dogs. Scientists have wondered whether dinosaurs similarly engaged in mixed-species herding behavior. Children's movies like 'The Land Before Time' series and 'Dinosaur' (2000) often depict motley crews of dinosaurs migrating together, like apatosaurs and triceratops or iguanodons and parasaurolophus (despite often living in different time periods). But evidence that different dinosaur species actually travelled with each other was lacking in the fossil record. (The Real Wisdom of the Crowds) Now, paleontologists working in the badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada, have uncovered fossilized footprints they say provide the first evidence of different species of dinosaurs herding together—though not everyone is convinced. The finding was published Wednesday in PLOS One. The 76-million-year-old footprints tell the story of a small group of horned dinosaurs, called ceratopsians, that may have formed a Lord of the Rings-esque traveling party with an armored ankylosaurid and, perhaps, a small two-legged theropod. And like Tolkien's famous fellowship, this band of travelers may have been stalked by fearsome foes: a pair of large carnivorous tyrannosaurs. Following Footsteps In the summer of 2024, Brian Pickles, a paleontologist at the University of Reading in England and his colleague Phil Bell were searching for fossils in the park when they came across something strange sticking out of the ground. 'We'd gone out prospecting for bones and weren't having much luck,' says Pickles. But then Bell, a paleontologist from the University of New England in Australia, came across a raised rim of iron stone. 'He started poking around and realized that it was a dinosaur footprint.' The 48 hours that followed the find were a whirlwind of frantic excavation and profound discoveries that culminated in what he calls 'a revolution in dinosaur paleoecology at Dinosaur Provincial Park.' In a patch of land roughly the size of two parking spaces, the team was able to excavate over a dozen fossilized footprints. Unlike other dinosaur track sites where footprints often overlap, these tracks were evenly spaced and showed no signs of crowding. Based on their size, shape, and direction, the researchers concluded they were likely made by a mixed-species group of at least five dinosaurs walking together. The team also found the fossilized footprints of two large tyrannosaurs that may have been walking side-by-side near the herd. Were these apex predators working together to hunt? And was the herd formed as a way to defend against such predation? In the grasslands of Africa, lions will often follow mixed species herds of herbivores and work together to hunt them. Could these footprints have captured a similar situation unfolding? 'It's quite evocative to think of this situation as being similar to what we see on the African plains today,' says Pickles. 'We don't know the specific timing. The tyrannosaurs could have been there first.' 'Weak feet?' Some researchers not involved in the work questioned the team's conclusions. Anthony Romilio, a paleontologist at the University of Queensland in Australia, says that although some dinosaurs likely did form mixed-species herds, he disagrees with how the authors interpreted the footprints. 'As researchers, we're naturally drawn to the possibilities these fossils offer—but that excitement can sometimes lead to interpretive overreach,' Romilio says. In his view, the ceratopsian and ankylosaurid tracks look similar in shape, and he thinks they are more likely to be poorly preserved footprints of large-bodied hadrosaurs. 'That interpretation may not be as headline-grabbing, but it aligns better with what we know from both fossil footprints and trackways,' he says. Christian Meyer, a paleontologist from the University of Basel in Switzerland, is also skeptical, and calls the findings "speculative." "I find that the preservation of the tracks, including their taxonomic assignment, is on weak feet, as there are no complete trackways preserved that show also the walking pattern," he says. "Moreover, the interpretation of mixed herding is—given the facts—in my view a bit overstretched." Since the excavation that sparked this new study, Pickles and his colleagues say they have found over ten additional dinosaur trackways. With this many trackways, Pickles says, figuring out whether some dinosaurs formed mixed-species herds is just the beginning. 'There's potentially a lot more going on there than we've been able to expose so far,' he says. Solve the daily Crossword
CBC
01-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Dinos, meet drones: How new technology could reshape the fossil record
A new study is challenging a long-standing method of dating dinosaur fossils in Alberta's Dinosaur Provincial Park — using drone technology. Previously, one of the methods paleontologists have used to date fossils in the UNESCO World Heritage Site is by measuring how high or low skeletons were found above a distinct boundary where two major rock layers meet. That boundary serves as a time stamp that fossils are dated in relation to. But this method gives only a rough age estimate, according to Alexandre Demers-Potvin, the study's lead author and PhD student at McGill University's Redpath Museum. He and his team used drones to capture over 1,000 high-resolution images of a section of the park and recreated it as a 3D model. The findings, published in the journal Palaeontologia Electronica, show that the boundary used to date fossils in the park actually fluctuates in elevation by as much as 12 metres in relatively short distances. That means the reference point itself varies and could be throwing off the estimated ages of fossils measured against it. The drone method, however, brings a new level of precision to fossil dating in the park. "This is easily one of the studies of which I'm proudest," said Demers-Potvin. "It feels great because this is the kind of work that takes years to complete," he said, citing the collaborative effort between researchers and students who contributed to the study. He said drone-assisted 3D modelling "might be a promising way to better understand which dinosaur fossils are actually older than others in that part of Alberta." "If you're able to take a step back by looking at a larger area from the air, it's easier to notice those small differences." Taking to the sky In 2018, Demers-Potvin began exploring a key fossil site in the park called "Bonebed 190," alongside a crew of McGill's vertebrate paleontology field course researchers. This particular section proved to have a rich biodiversity and high preservation quality of fossils, which sparked a long-term project to further research the area. Demers-Potvin and his team introduced drones to the mix in 2021, taking pictures from above, while a ground team placed down markers using a GPS in order to better geolocate the final 3D rendering. Using a technique called structure-from-motion photogrammetry, they stitched the photos together to construct a detailed 3D model of the terrain. "The quality of the images of that model enabled us to essentially split all those hills into overlying rock layers … which means that we essentially split this whole section [into] different time zones, and this is something that hasn't been done very often for that kind of rock outcrop before," Demers-Potvin explained. The researchers say this application of 3D modelling may be a more reliable tool to date fossils, correcting previous estimates and filling in the gaps that exist in the current timeline. Drones help piece together more accurate fossil record Emily Bamforth, a paleontologist and curator at the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum in northwestern Alberta, said drone use is becoming increasingly common in her field. She is not affiliated with the study but said McGill's research is important to understanding the fossil record with accuracy and placing fossils in both a spatial and temporal context. "In the last two decades, there has … been a shift in dinosaur paleontology away from isolated specimens and towards understanding the broader environments and ecosystems in which these animals lived and how they changed over time," she said. "In this, the stratigraphic context in which a fossil is found is critical, to the point that where a fossil is found is as important as the fossil itself." Although Dinosaur Provincial Park is a well-researched site, Demers-Potvin hopes to continue refining what they already know with drone technology — potentially gaining more insight into the biodiversity of an ancient world. "I think we're getting away from that older method [of dating], and I think now we're just filling the gaps between one data point and another data point and that entire stack of sedimentary rock layers that you can find in the badlands," Demers-Potvin said. "This is only the first step as part of a much bigger project where we hope to cover the entire park."
