Dinosaur footprints from about 200 million years ago discovered in Southwest China

CHENGDU: In a remarkable discovery, paleontologists have found more than 20 dinosaur and other vertebrate footprints on a rock wall in southwest China’s Sichuan Province. The discovery is believed to offer new insights into the early evolution of dinosaurs, dating back approximately 200 million years.

The dinosaur tracks were found in the city of Dujiangyan by a hiker last month, and their authenticity was later verified by a research team led by Xing Lida, an associate professor at China University of Geosciences (Beijing). It is the first time dinosaur footprints have been found in Dujiangyan.

Xing reported that the prints include various sizes of theropod (meat-eating dinosaur) footprints and chirotherian-type tracks, attributed to early archosaur reptiles and resembling human hands.

“What makes this site particularly valuable is that at least four layers preserve footprints, suggesting dinosaurs lived here for a long period,” Xing explained.

Researchers also uncovered pieces of petrified wood near these tracks, including fallen logs and upright stumps preserved in place, providing additional information about the nature of the local ecosystem more than 200 million years ago.

According to Jiang Shan, a researcher at the Zigong Dinosaur Museum in Sichuan, the recently identified material offers a better understanding of the early evolutionary history of dinosaurs in China.