THE discovery of one of the biggest dinosaur footprints ever recorded has raised hopes that a massive skeleton may be uncovered.
Measuring over a metre in length, the giant fossil has been found in the Gobi Desert by a team of Japanese and Mongolian paleontologists.
The enormous footstep, which measures 77cm wide and 106cm long, dates back over 70 million years to the late Cretaceous period.
It is believed to have been made by a Titanosaur, the real giants of the dinosaurs, whose footsteps would have literally shaken the ground.
The Gobi Desert footprint is so big the scientists believe the creature that made it could have been 20 metres tall and more than 30 metres long.
“This is a very rare discovery as it’s a well-preserved fossil footprint that is more than a metre long with imprints of its claws,” said a statement from Okayama University of Science.
Professor Shinobu Ishigaki said he was now hopeful that bones could be found.
“A whole skeleton of a giant dinosaur that left such a massive footprint has yet to be uncovered in Mongolia,” he said. “A fossilised skeleton of such a dinosaur is expected to be eventually discovered.”
HAS A SKELETON EVER BEEN FOUND?
THE find may shed light on intriguing questions such as how a creature that weighed around 70 tonnes could move around. It is thought that Titanosaur’s walked on tiptoe to reduce the chance of leg fractures because of their extreme weight.
These herbivores lived during the final years of the Mesozoic Era and the largest ever discovered was found two years ago in Argentina.
A whopping 37 metres long, it would have weighed around 70 tonnes and its skeleton was buried in southern Patagonia until a farmer looking for his lost sheep found them perched on an odd-looking, rocky ledge.
Traces of dinosaurs had already been found in the region but the farmer doubted this could be a bone because it was so huge. Nevertheless, he contacted scientists who ascertained that it was, in fact, a dinosaur thigh bone almost three metres long.
It took days to dig out the fossil which was around the size of the average living room sofa.
“During a period of three days you see it keeps going in and going in and it’s getting wider and bigger. It’s like these mini-surprises that build up … and then you realize ‘Wow, this is huge’,” said paleontologist Diego Pol.
WHY SO IMPORTANT?
IT turned out to be part of the biggest dinosaur skeleton ever uncovered and the farmland became the most important dinosaur dig site in the world. The bones of six of its relatives were found along with around 80 giant teeth from an unknown predator.
“It was like a paleontological crime scene, a unique thing that you don’t find anywhere else in the world with the potential of discovering all kinds of new facts about Titanosaurs,” said Pol. “According to our estimates this animal weighed 70 tonnes. A comparison of the back bones shows that this animal was 10 per cent larger than Argentinosaurus, the previous record holder. So we have discovered the largest dinosaur ever known.”
It took a year and a half to excavate the 223 bones and the 84 found from one specimen were enough to create a life size replica which was unveiled in New York’s American Museum of Natural History earlier this year.
The replica is made of fibreglass, a lighter substance than fossil bones, but is so big it was impossible to fit it into even one of the largest rooms. The head and neck now jut out three metres into the adjoining area and the creature’s back nearly scrapes the ceiling.
“No matter how much you plan, no matter how much you try … It’s like putting Ikea furniture together,” said Mark Norrell, the museum’s chair of paleontology.
ANY OTHER GIANTS?
THIS month paleontologists from across South America are gathering in Bolivia where another giant dinosaur footprint was recently discovered.
Measuring 115cm wide, the quality of the 80-million-year-old print is “impressive” and has led to hopes that this remote corner could attract dinosaur enthusiasts from all over the world.
“It allows us to position ourselves as a mecca of paleontology,” said Bolivian paleontologist Omar Medina.
It is the most recent dinosaur find in the Chuquisaca area which is a treasure trove of dinosaur fossils, including footprints that appear to scale a cliff. The oddity was created by the churning of the Earth’s plates which turned the flat ground into a sheer rock face.
Bolivia is also known for the Cal Orcko Park, one of the largest beds of fossilised dinosaur footprints on the planet with more than 10,000 prints left by nearly 300 species of dinosaur.
Maragua, where the new print was discovered in July, is more remote.
“There are no basic services to bring people here to show them these paleontological riches,” said local guide Grover Marquina, who discovered the new footprint. “We have to blaze a trail.”
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