‘Dinosaur highway’ footprints dating back 166 million years were discovered in England

• A “dinosaur highway” containing about 200 tracks dating back 166 million years was discovered in southern England.
• Some of the tracks show the tracks taken by Cetiosaurus, a dinosaur that grew to about 60 feet long. Another set was for Megalosaurus, a 30-meter predator and the first dinosaur to be scientifically named two hundred years ago.
• The findings will be displayed in a new exhibition at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and broadcast on the BBC’s “Digging for Britain” program next week.

A worker digging clay in a limestone quarry in southern England noticed unusual bumps that led to the discovery of a “dinosaur highway” and nearly 200 tracks made over 166 million years, researchers said Thursday.

The unusual discovery, made after a team of more than 100 people excavated the Dewars Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire in June, expands on previous paleontology work in the area and provides more insight into the Middle Jurassic period, researchers from the universities of Oxford and Birmingham said. .

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“These footprints provide an amazing window into the lives of dinosaurs, revealing details about their movements, interactions, and habitats,” said Kirsty Edgar, professor of micropaleontology at the University of Birmingham.

The four sets of tracks that make up the so-called highway show the paths taken by large, long-necked herbivores called sauropods, thought to be Cetiosaurus, a dinosaur that grew to about 60 feet long. The fifth set was for Megalosaurus, a 30-foot-tall beast that left the distinctive imprint of three claws and was the first dinosaur to be scientifically named two centuries ago.

The location where the tracks cross raises questions about possible interactions between carnivores and herbivores.

“Scientists have known and studied Megalosaurus for longer than any other dinosaur on Earth, yet these new discoveries prove that there is still new evidence of these animals out there, waiting to be discovered,” said Emma Nicholls, a local vertebrate expert. Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

About 30 years ago, 40 sets of footprints found in a limestone formation in the area were considered one of the world’s most important sites for scientifically tracking dinosaurs. But that area is very inaccessible now and there is little photographic evidence because of the previous use of digital cameras and drones to record discoveries.

Workers carefully study dinosaur footprints found at Dewars Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire, England. (Emma Nicholls/OUMNH via AP)

A team that worked on the site this summer took more than 20,000 digital photos and used drones to create 3-D models of the prints. The trove of documentation will help future studies and shed light on the size of the dinosaurs, how they moved and how fast they moved.

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“The preservation is so detailed that we can see how the mud was deformed as the dinosaur’s feet moved in and out,” said Duncan Murdock, a geologist at the Oxford museum. “Together with other fossils such as burrows, shells and plants, we can revive the muddy lagoon where the dinosaurs walked.”

The findings will be shown in a new exhibition at the museum and broadcast on the BBC’s “Digging for Britain” program next week.