Nature & Environment
Amazing Footprints Show Dinosaurs Walking Together on a Beach in Germany
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Aug 17, 2015 07:10 AM EDT
Scientists have uncovered evidence that 142 million years ago, two carnivorous dinosaurs strolled side-by-side down a beach. The new findings, which were made in Germany, may provide insight into the two hunters' daily lives.
In this case, one of the carnivorous dinosaurs is large while the other is small. Neither of them look to be in a hurry as they stroll down the beach, leaving their footprints in the sand. However, they do sometimes skid a bit since it's hard to stand firm in sand.
A few times, the smaller dinosaur has to trot in order to catch up to the big one; the average speed is about 6.3 km/hr for the big one and 9.7 km/hr for the small one. This is notably slow for a carnivorous dinosaur that can run more than 40 km/hr.
The researchers also analyzed the footprints to get a better sense of their size. The two animals measured 1.6 meters and 1.1 meters at hip height, and were probably carnivorous Megalosauripus. The small one occasional crossed its legs on the way, possibly dealing with slippery conditions, strong winds, or simply because it wanted to stick close to the larger one.
In fact, the researchers believe that it's possible these social dinosaurs were actually a parent and its young.
With that said, it's impossible to determine whether the tracks from the small one and the large one were created at the same time. It's also possible that the tracks may have been created many years apart, and randomly crossed each other's tracks.
The findings were presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Paleontologists.
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First Posted: Aug 17, 2015 07:10 AM EDT
Scientists have uncovered evidence that 142 million years ago, two carnivorous dinosaurs strolled side-by-side down a beach. The new findings, which were made in Germany, may provide insight into the two hunters' daily lives.
In this case, one of the carnivorous dinosaurs is large while the other is small. Neither of them look to be in a hurry as they stroll down the beach, leaving their footprints in the sand. However, they do sometimes skid a bit since it's hard to stand firm in sand.
A few times, the smaller dinosaur has to trot in order to catch up to the big one; the average speed is about 6.3 km/hr for the big one and 9.7 km/hr for the small one. This is notably slow for a carnivorous dinosaur that can run more than 40 km/hr.
The researchers also analyzed the footprints to get a better sense of their size. The two animals measured 1.6 meters and 1.1 meters at hip height, and were probably carnivorous Megalosauripus. The small one occasional crossed its legs on the way, possibly dealing with slippery conditions, strong winds, or simply because it wanted to stick close to the larger one.
In fact, the researchers believe that it's possible these social dinosaurs were actually a parent and its young.
With that said, it's impossible to determine whether the tracks from the small one and the large one were created at the same time. It's also possible that the tracks may have been created many years apart, and randomly crossed each other's tracks.
The findings were presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Paleontologists.
Related Stories
Dinosaurs: Newly Discovered Velociraptor Cousin Had Feathers and Wings
Wendiceratops: Strange, New Horned Dinosaur Reveals Evolutionary History of Triceratops
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone