A footprint about a meter long, left in stone by a carnivorous dinosaur 166 million years ago, has been discovered in the Yorkshire region of the United Kingdom.
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A huge creature is said to have crouched or rested as it left this trail, the largest in this area, dubbed the “Dinosaur Coast.”
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” archaeologist Marie Woods, who discovered it, said in a statement. I had seen smaller footprints before, but never anything like this.”
After this discovery, the piece of stone with the imprint was pulled out of its rock for protection and further study.
According to geologist John Hudson, who was the last to discover a footprint in this region in 2006, the track may have been left by a specimen similar to the Megalosaurus.
“The nature of the footprint combined with its age suggests it came from a wild Megalausora dinosaur,” he said. Its height would be from the floor to the hips and could reach between 2.5 and 3 meters.
James McKay/University of Manchester
Ms Woods, Mr Hudson and three other collaborators published their discovery in the journal Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society.
When the conservation process is complete, the print will go on display at the Rotunda Museum in Scarborough, UK.