CNN Indonesia
Friday, 08 Sep 2023 15:14 IWST
One of the traces of an ancient animal found in Dinosaur Valley State Park, USA. (AFP/HANDOUT)
Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Drought what happened in the state of Texas, United States, is revealing footsteps dinosaur longest in the world. There are at least around 70 dinosaur tracks revealed by the drought at Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose.
The footprints date back 110 million years, and are hidden beneath the water and mud of the Paluxy River, which cuts through the state park.
Experts suspect that the tracks found belong to two different species of dinosaur. The three-toed footprints likely came from the giant carnivore Acrocanthosaurus, while the “elephant-like” footprints are thought to belong to Sauroposeidon, a long-necked dinosaur.
Rows of dinosaur tracks in the US. (Handout / Dinosaur Valley State Park / AFP)
Acrocanthosaurus was one of the largest predators in North America during the Early Cretaceous period (Early Cretaceous, 145 million to 101 million years ago), with a length of about 12 meters.
However, the long-necked Sauroposeidon, a genus of sauropod, dwarfed it, at about 30 meters long and weighing 50 metric tons, according to the Natural History Museum in London.
One section, nicknamed the “Lone Ranger Track”, is believed to be one of the longest dinosaur tracks in the world.
Officials from Friends of Dinosaur Valley State Park, a non-profit organization that supports the park, first discovered the dinosaur tracks on Friday (25/8).
It announced the footprints were “the largest footprints we have ever seen at this location.”
“This is not normal for us, but two years in a row of high temperatures and drought conditions has given us the opportunity to find new trails,” said Paul Baker, retail manager at Friends of Dinosaur Valley State Park, citing LiveScienceMonday (4/9).
“Once we receive enough rain, most of the trail will be covered again,” he added.
Members of the Dallas Paleontological Society plan to map and make casts of the tracks for future research purposes.
(tim/dmi)
2023-09-08 08:14:00
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