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- Researchers discovered five trackways in the UK featuring dinosaur tracks, with the longest path reaching almost 500 feet.
- The researchers attribute the prints to the Middle Jurassic Period, considering them part of a “dinosaur highway” in the area.
- A quarry worker was removing clay from the site when he noticed unusual protrusions—these were revealed to be part of a 150-million-year-old footprint.
An employee at Dewars Farm Quarry in the UK was inside his vehicle when he inadvertently discovered an ancient highway—but not the type of highway you might expect. This one dates back to the Middle Jurassic Period, estimated by scientists to be around 166 million years ago, in a region referred to as a “dinosaur highway” by researchers from Oxford and Birmingham universities. This pathway comprises hundreds of distinct dinosaur footprints situated on the quarry’s limestone surface.
The initial “peculiar bumps” that worker Gary Johnson felt while removing clay from the quarry led to five vast trackways—experts suspect that many more trackways are present in the vicinity—comprising dinosaur footprints, with the longest nearly 500 feet in length. Four of the trails were likely formed by the Cetiosaurus, a nearly 60-foot-long sauropod known for its long neck and herbivorous diet.
The fifth track originated not from an herbivore but from a more aggressive Megalosaurus, a three-toed carnivorous theropod with claws. University specialists suggest that there is evidence of overlap between carnivore and herbivore tracks, prompting questions about their potential interactions.
“These footprints provide an amazing glimpse into the existence of dinosaurs,” stated Kirsty Edgar, a professor of micropaleontology at the University of Birmingham, in a statement, “unveiling insights about their migrations, relationships, and the warm environment they lived in.”
Each Megalosaurus footprint measures about two feet in length, with a stride of nearly nine feet, allowing scientists to estimate their walking speed to be approximately three miles per hour, similar to that of an average adult human.
The 100 workers from the quarry and universities removed mud and clay from the floor, fully uncovering about 200 footprints within a week. The team subsequently constructed detailed 3D models of the site using aerial drone images and meticulously documented the footprints. According to scientists, the area was once a warm tropical sea featuring patches of mudflats and shallow marine lagoons.
This new discovery corresponds with 40 footprints found at a nearby limestone quarry in 1997; however, the technology at that time did not permit the precise documentation of the site as it has for this recent find. “There is much more that we can uncover from this location, which is a vital aspect of our Earth’s natural heritage,” Richard Butler, professor of paleobiology at the University of Birmingham, stated. “Our 3D models will enable researchers to continue examining and making this compelling part of our history accessible for the future.”
The team currently possesses over 20,000 images of the footprints and aspires to further research which could illuminate how dinosaurs moved, their speed, possible interactions, and their actual size. “The preservation is so intricate that we can observe how the mud was disturbed as the dinosaur’s feet pushed in and out,” noted Duncan Murdock, Earth scientist at Oxford University Museum of Natural History, in a statement. “Together with various fossils such as burrows, shells, and plants, we can reconstruct the muddy lagoon ecosystem the dinosaurs traversed.”
Emma Nicholls, vertebrate paleontologist at Oxford, remarked that this recent discovery could significantly enhance our understanding of the Megalosaurus, the first dinosaur ever named upon its discovery 200 years back. “Scientists have been aware of and investigating Megalosaurus longer than any other dinosaur on this planet,” Nicholls shared in a statement about the dino, which likely moved on two legs and weighed over 2.2 tons while stretching close to 30 feet, “and yet these new finds demonstrate that fresh evidence of these creatures remains to be discovered.”
Tim Newcomb is a journalist located in the Pacific Northwest. He writes about sports venues, sneakers, gear, infrastructure, and more for a plethora of publications, including Popular Mechanics. His most treasured interviews include conversations with Roger Federer in Switzerland, Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, and Tinker Hatfield in Portland.
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