[The Epoch Times, September 12, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Zhang Yufei compiled and reported) JapanOkayama University of ScienceThe research team recentlyMongoliaofgobi desertover a thousand foundend of Cretaceous periodofdinosaur footprintfossil. The team said that the discovery will help archaeologists understand the walking style and posture of dinosaurs, and the results are very valuable.
According to comprehensive Japanese media reports, in June this year,Okayama University of ScienceA dinosaur research team andMongoliaA joint investigation team from the Institute of Paleontology of the Academy of Sciencesgobi desertAn investigation was carried out in the southeastern and central parts of China, and 23 well-preserved continuous dinosaur footprints were found. The longer “tracks” lasted regarding 30 meters long, and the total number of footprints reached more than 1,000, of which the largest footprint was 90 cm long.
Palaeontologist Shinobu Ishigaki, curator of the Dinosaur Museum at Okayama University of Science, said the footprints can be traced back to 70 million to 90 million years ago.end of Cretaceous periodis presumed to be left by the herbivorous dinosaur “Titanosauria” with a body length of regarding 6 to 25 meters.
Ishigaki said, “These important clues help us understand the posture, movement, behavior and position of large sauropods at the end of the Cretaceous period, whose legs appear to be in genu varus, commonly known as titanosaur skeletons. O-legs, but from some of the footprints found this time, they are not all O-legs.”
Usually, the footprints of the forefoot are easily stepped on by the hindfoot and thus difficult to leave behind, but this time, it is rare to find many tracks with both the forefoot and the hindfoot. In addition, this is the first time a dinosaur footprint with paw prints has been discovered in Mongolia.
In fact, the joint investigation team has cooperated many years ago.In August 2016, they also excavated a 106 cm long in the southeast of the Gobi Desert.dinosaur footprintFossils, presumably also left by Titanosaurus 70 million years ago. Because footprint fossils more than one meter long are rare in the world, this discovery is of great research value.
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According to anotherNational GeographicIntroduction, the largest dinosaur ever unearthed in Patagonia, Argentina, “Patagotitan mayorum”, is the largest land animal in history and belongs to the genus Titanosaur in classification. . Its weight is equivalent to the combined weight of 12 elephants and may have reached the size limit of terrestrial animals. The fossil is well preserved and helps experts understand its body structure.
Responsible editor: Han Yu
