Somewhere in the Asian country of Mongolia is the Gobi Desert, and somewhere in the Gobi Desert lies one of the largest dinosaur footprints ever discovered.
Image Credit: Okayama University of Science
It was discovered back in August by an expedition team, but the footprint only recently made headlines after it was publicized and measured out to be more than 106 centimeters in length and 77 centimeters in width.
The footprint, which is believed to be anywhere from 70-90 million years old, is said to have been left by a Titanosaur, which is the generic name given for any large four-legged dinosaur.
These kinds of footprints are found on all seven continents of the world, but this one is one of the largest and best-preserved specimens to date.
It was cast naturally by a dinosaur stepping into the soft ground. Then sand, silt, and other minerals poured into the depression in the ground where they would then harden together like plaster would over a spans of time.
It’s not as if large meter-long footprints have never been found in the world before, but this one gets its recognition from how well-preserved it is.
“This is a very rare discovery as it’s a well-preserved fossil footprint that is more than a meter long with imprints of its claws,” a statement issued by Okayama University of Science read.
It’s not really sure how large the dinosaur that left this footprint was, but scientists have come up with a general illustration that gives us a clue of what the dinosaur may have looked like:
Image Credit: Okayama University of Science
Of course, this illustration may or may not be incredibly accurate, since we now know that dinosaurs were probably feathered like birds instead of smooth-skinned.
Now, scientists will scour the Gobi looking for any traces of dinosaur skeletons. It’s hoped that where we find fingerprints, we may also be able to find traces of the dinosaurs.
Source: The Telegraph