Latest news with #ToneBlakesley
BBC News
03-04-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Footprints show different dinosaurs drank from the same lagoon
Dinosaur footprints on the Isle of Skye are helping scientists learn something new about the prehistoric say the footprints show that both herbivores (plant eaters) and carnivores (meat eaters) drank together at lagoons around 167 million years team of scientists at Edinburgh University analysed 131 dinosaur footprints at Prince Charles's Point on the island. Among them they found rarely-seen prints of megalosaurs - jeep-sized cousins of the - alongside footprints of plant-eating dinosaurs called sauropods. Researchers say finding the footprints together is a "fascinating insight" into the environmental preferences and behaviours of dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic explained that, by analysing the tracks of the dinosaurs, they believe that the prehistoric beasts milled around the lagoon's edges in a similar way to animals congregating around watering holes think both plant-eating and meat-eating dinos preferred the lagoons to drier exposed mud-flats. Research lead Tone Blakesley said: "The footprints at Prince Charles's Point provide a fascinating insight into the behaviours and environmental distributions of meat-eating theropods and plant-eating, long-necked sauropods during an important time in their evolution."The first three footprints were discovered five years ago, on the island's Trotternish Peninsula, by a student from the University of Edinburgh. After this initial discovery more footprints were found and scientists believe there are still more to be uncovered. The number of footprints make the area one of the most extensive dinosaur track sites in Scotland.
The Independent
02-04-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Secrets of dinosaur gathering revealed by newly discovered footprints
Newly-identified dinosaur footprints on the Isle of Skye reveal herbivores and carnivores coexisted at freshwater lagoons some 167 million years ago. A University of Edinburgh team analysed 131 footprints at Prince Charles's Point, on the island's Trotternish Peninsula, uncovering evidence of a diverse ecosystem. Among the tracks were rare prints of megalosaurs – a jeep-sized theropod and cousin and ancestor of the – alongside those of plant-eating sauropods - long-necked herbivores possibly two or three times the size of an elephant, identifiable by their large, circular footprints. The footprints were once considered by geologists to have been resting burrows of fish. The researchers said the site provides a 'fascinating insight' into the environmental preferences and behaviours of dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic period. Analysis of the multi-directional tracks and walking gaits, they explained, suggest the prehistoric beasts milled around the lagoon's margins, similar to how animals congregate around watering holes today. They added that the tracks show that regardless of dominance, the meat-eating therapods and plant-eating sauropods habitually spent time in lagoons, as opposed to exposed, drier mudflats. Research lead Tone Blakesley said: 'The footprints at Prince Charles's Point provide a fascinating insight into the behaviours and environmental distributions of meat-eating theropods and plant-eating, long-necked sauropods during an important time in their evolution. 'On Skye, these dinosaurs clearly preferred shallowly submerged lagoon environments over subaerially exposed mudflats.' The first three footprints at the site were discovered five years ago by a University of Edinburgh student and colleagues during a visit to the shoreline. Subsequent discoveries of other footprints in the area made it one of the most extensive dinosaur track sites in Scotland, with scientists saying they expect to find more. The research team studied the tracks by taking thousands of overlapping photographs of the entire site with a drone, before using specialist software software to construct 3D models of the footprints via a technique called photogrammetry. Steve Brusatte, personal chair of palaeontology and evolution at the University of Edinburgh, reflected on the fact the remote bay on the Trotternish Peninsula was also where Bonnie Prince Charlie hid in 1746 while on the run from British troops. 'Prince Charles's Point is a place where Scottish history and prehistory blend together,' he said. 'It's astounding to think that when Bonnie Prince Charlie was running for his life, he might have been sprinting in the footsteps of dinosaurs.' The research, published in PLOS One, was funded by the Leverhulme Trust and National Geographic Society.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Skye footprints clue to dinosaurs' drinking habits
Huge meat-eating dinosaurs and their plant-eating prey shared the same watering holes on Skye 167 million years ago, say scientists. University of Edinburgh researchers examined dozens of dinosaur footprints at Prince Charles's Point on the island's Trotternish Peninsula. The dinosaurs included carnivorous megalosaurs - ancestors of Tyrannosaurus rex - and long necked herbivores that were up to three times bigger in size than an elephant. The scientists analysed the footprints to understand how the animals had moved, and suggested the different dinosaurs had "milled around" shallow freshwater lagoons. The researchers said the behaviour from the Middle Jurassic was similar to how animals congregated around watering holes today. More than 130 footprints have been found so far at Prince Charles's Point, on Skye's north coast. The area is named after Bonnie Prince Charlie who had sought shelter on the peninsula while fleeing British government troops after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. The scientists said the footprints suggested meat-eating theropods and plant-eating sauropods habitually spent time in lagoons. They said subsequent discoveries had made the area one of the most extensive dinosaur track sites in Scotland. The Edinburgh research team's Tone Blakesley said the footprints provided a "fascinating insight" into dinosaur behaviour. Palaeontologist Steve Brusatte added: "Prince Charles's Point is a place where Scottish history and prehistory blend together. "It's astounding to think that when Bonnie Prince Charlie was running for his life, he might have been sprinting in the footsteps of dinosaurs." The first three footprints at Prince Charles's Point were discovered five years ago by a University of Edinburgh student and colleagues. More stories from the Highlands and Islands News from the Highlands and Islands on BBC Sounds Important fossil discoveries have been made on Skye over the last 40 years. They include a pony-sized dinosaur that lived 166 million years ago, and adult and juvenile mammals of the shrew-like Krusatodon. The island also saw the discovery of the largest Jurassic pterosaur fossil, Dearc sgiathanach - a 170-million-year-old winged reptile. Dinosaur Island: 40 years of discoveries on Skye
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Footprints show giant carnivorous dinosaurs and their plant-eating prey drank from same Scottish watering hole
Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Tyrannosaurus rex ancestors and their plant-eating dinosaur prey would have congregated to drink water from a lagoon in what is now Scotland, new research suggests. Despite the fact that the carnivorous megalosaurs would have hunted the long-necked sauropods 167 million years ago, newly identified footprints show that both types of dinosaur would have milled around the edge of the lagoon, much like how modern-day animals congregate at watering holes, researchers from the University of Edinburgh say. Lead study author Tone Blakesley, a Masters graduate at the Scottish university, told CNN that he was among a small group that recognized an initial three footprints at the remote site on the Isle of Skye's Trotternish Peninsula in 2019. 'It was very exciting,' said Blakesley, who went on to document a total 131 footprints for the study, using a drone to take thousands of overlapping images of the site before producing digital 3D models of the footprints using specialist software. Because of their flatness, the footprints had previously been mistaken for fish resting burrows. Blakesley explained that this was due to the fact that there would have only been a thin layer of sand on top of a much harder layer of mud, leaving only a shallow indentation. They are preserved in 'exquisite detail,' he added. The footprints were made 167 million years ago, during the Middle Jurassic period, an important time in dinosaur evolution, but little rock remains from the era, Blakesley said. As a result, the site in northern Scotland provides invaluable insights into the life of dinosaurs at the time. In stark contrast to the generally cold and blustery weather on Skye today, the area would have had a warm and humid subtropical climate during the Middle Jurassic, with a series of lagoons on a huge river estuary, Blakesley said. The sauropods were 'big lumbering giants which would have plodded along,' said Blakesley, who used the spacing of the footprints to estimate that they would have moved at speeds of around 2.5 kilometers per hour (1.55 miles per hour), around half the average human walking speed. They would have used their long necks to feed from the top of conifers and other trees, he added. The 'jeep-sized' megalosaurs, which are a kind of theropod, would have moved around the lagoon on their way from one area of vegetation to another — in search of prey or to seek shelter and rest — traveling much faster, at around 8 kilometers per hour (5 miles per hour), he said. 'It would have been quite a surreal place to stand in,' Blakesley said. But while the dinosaurs would have been in the area at around the same time, the footprints do not demonstrate any evidence that they interacted by the lagoon, and it is unlikely that they would have been side by side. 'That would be a disaster for the sauropods if that happened,' he said. 'The temptation for lunch… would have been too much for the theropods.' Blakesley continues to work at the site and discovered more dinosaur footprints on Tuesday, he told CNN. 'There's more footprints to find,' he said, adding that he is also investigating other dinosaur track sites on Skye as well as in the south of England. The study was published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Footprints reveal T. rex ancestors mingled on Scottish island
Despite being prehistoric predator and prey, massive meat-eating and plant-eating dinosaurs drank together from shallow freshwater lagoons on the Isle of Skye, 167 million years ago, according to newly identified tracks. The 131 footprints at Prince Charles's Point on Skye's Trotternish Peninsula makes the site one of Scotland's largest and, thanks to the dominance of footprints from carnivorous megalosaurs – cousins and ancestors of T. rex – one of the rarest in the world. The discovery has given scientists invaluable insights into the environmental preferences and behaviours of dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic period. The site revealed footprints of plant-eating sauropods. Experts say their large, flat, circular impressions suggest they were made by a long-necked dinosaur two or three times the size of an elephant. The footprints were once considered by geologists to be resting burrows of fish. READ MORE: Elgol dinosaur found in 1973 finally extracted from cliff on Skye Edinburgh scientists crack secret of how pterosaurs took to the air New species of flying 'dino-cousin' discovered on Isle of Skye The area is also rich with footprints from jeep-sized megalosaurs, evidence of which from the Middle Jurassic period is scarce, experts say. Analysis of the multi-directional tracks and walking gaits indicate that these dinosaurs milled around the lagoon's margins, similar to how animals congregate around watering holes today. The footprints suggest that, regardless of dominance, the meat-eating theropods and plant-eating sauropods habitually spent time in lagoons as opposed to exposed drier mudflats, researchers say. The first three footprints at Prince Charles's Point were discovered five years ago by a University of Edinburgh student and colleagues, who were visiting the shoreline. Meat eating megalosaurs and plant eating sauropods mingle at site reconstruction. (Image: Tone Blakesley and Scott Reid) Subsequent footprint discoveries have made the site one of the most extensive dinosaur track sites in Scotland, with scientists expecting to find more. The research team took thousands of overlapping photographs of the entire site with a drone. Using specialist software, the team reconstructed digital 3D models of the footprints via a method called photogrammetry. The remote bay on the Trotternish Peninsula was also the hiding place for Bonnie Prince Charlie, who sought shelter on the shoreline on 21 June 1746 with Flora MacDonald while being pursured by British troops. The research, published in PLOS One, was funded by the Leverhulme Trust and National Geographic Society. Tone Blakesley, research lead and Masters in Palaeontology and Geobiology graduate from the School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, said: "The footprints at Prince Charles's Point provide a fascinating insight into the behaviours and environmental distributions of meat-eating theropods and plant-eating, long-necked sauropods during an important time in their evolution. On Skye, these dinosaurs clearly preferred shallowly submerged lagoonal environments over subaerially exposed mudflats." Steve Brusatte, Personal Chair of Palaeontology and Evolution from the School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, said: "Prince Charles's Point is a place where Scottish history and prehistory blend together. It's astounding to think that when Bonnie Prince Charlie was running for his life, he might have been sprinting in the footsteps of dinosaurs."
