Scientists unearth a 76-million-year-old mystery in Canada
The discovery was made at
Dinosaur Provincial Park
, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
famed for its fossil-rich terrain but rarely for footprints. The newly documented site, named the Skyline Tracksite, dates back about 76 million years and was described in a study published in PLOS One.
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Researchers say the trackway includes 13
ceratopsian footprints
, horned dinosaurs related to Triceratops, likely left by at least five animals moving in a group. Among them is a single track from an ankylosaurid, an armored plant-eater, suggesting the two species may have traveled together. Nearby, a small carnivore left its own mark.
But what truly caught scientists' attention were two enormous tyrannosaurid footprints crossing the herd's path. 'The tyrannosaur tracks give the sense that they were really eyeing up the herd, which is a pretty chilling thought,' said Dr. Phil Bell of the University of New England, who co-authored the study.
Bell remembers the moment of discovery vividly: 'This rim of rock had the look of mud that had been squelched out between your toes, and I was immediately intrigued.'
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The team painstakingly uncovered about 29 square meters of rock using picks, trowels, and even corn brooms. What they found offers rare evidence of mixed-species herding and a possible predator-prey interaction.
'It was incredibly exciting to be walking in the footsteps of dinosaurs 76 million years after they laid them down,' said Dr. Brian Pickles, a University of Reading paleontologist who helped lead the project.
Experts believe the herd may have banded together as a defense strategy, similar to how modern animals like zebras and wildebeests move in groups to deter predators. Still, researchers can't say for sure if the tyrannosaurs and the herd crossed paths at the same moment, only that their tracks ended up preserved in the same ancient mudflat.
Dinosaur Provincial Park has yielded fossils from more than 50 species, but trackways like this remain rare because of the park's eroding cliffs. Scientists now hope the Skyline Tracksite will help unlock new clues about how dinosaurs behaved in the wild.
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