Footprints of dinosaurs that walked on Earth 110 million years ago found in the UK

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Footprints from a minimum of six different species of dinosaurs, the very last dinosaurs to steer on the united kingdom soil 110 million years ago, are found in Kent, a new report has announced.

The discovery of dinosaur footprints by a curator from Hastings Museum and art gallery and a scientist from the University of Portsmouth is the last record of dinosaurs in Britain.

The footprints were discovered within the cliffs and on the foreshore in Folkestone, Kent, where stormy conditions affect the cliff and coastal waters and are constantly revealing new fossils.

Professor of Palaeobiology, David Martill, said: "This is that the first time dinosaur footprints are found in strata referred to as the 'Folkestone Formation' and it's quite extraordinary discovery because these dinosaurs would are the last to roam during this country before becoming extinct."

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"They were walking around close to where the White Cliffs of Dover are now -- next time you're on a ferry and you see those magnificent cliffs just imagine that!"

The footprint fossils formed by sediment filling the impression left behind when a dinosaur's foot pushes into the ground, which then preserves it.

The footprints are from a variety of dinosaurs, which shows there was a relatively high diversity of dinosaurs in southern England at the end of the first cretaceous period, 110 million years ago.

They are thought to be from ankylosaurs, rugged-looking armored dinosaurs which were like living tanks; theropods, three-toed flesh-eating dinosaurs just like the Tyrannosaurus rex; and ornithopods, plant-eating 'bird-hipped dinosaurs so-called due to their pelvic structure being a little bit similar to birds.

Philip Hadland, Collections and Engagement Curator at the Hastings Museum and art gallery is that the lead author on the paper. He said: "Back in 2011, I came across unusual impressions within the rock formation at Folkestone. They appeared to be repeating and all I could think was they could be footprints.

"This was at odds with what most geologists say about the rocks here, but I went looking for more footprints and because the tides revealed more by erosion, I found even better ones. More work was needed to convince the scientific community of their validity, so I teamed up with experts at the University of Portsmouth to verify what I'd found."

Most of the findings are isolated footprints, but one discovery comprises six footprints -- making a 'trackway', which is quite one consecutive print from the same animal.

This trackway of prints is similar in size to an elephant footprint and are identified as likely to be an Ornithopodichnus, of which similar, but smaller-sized footprints have also been found in China from the same time.

The largest footprint found -- measuring 80 cm in width and 65 cm in length -- has been identified as belonging to an Iguanodon-like dinosaur. Iguanodons were also plant-eaters, grew up to 10 meters long, and walked on both two legs or all fours.

Professor Martill said: "To find such an array of species in one place is fascinating. These dinosaurs probably took advantage of the tidal exposures on coastal foreshores, perhaps foraging for food or taking advantage of clear migration routes."

In the late cretaceous period, this a part of Kent, and indeed much of the UK was beneath a shallow sea, but this study also shows unequivocally that the Folkestone Formation was inter-tidal.

Mr. Hadland said: "Aside from finding that dinosaurs visited the seaside a bit like their modern relatives the birds, we've also found new evidence that changes the interpretation of the geology of the Folkestone Formation strata.

"It just goes to show that what has been previously published about the geology of an area isn't always correct and new insights are often made. there's also the potential for nearly anyone to form a discovery that adds to scientific knowledge from publicly accessible geological sites."

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Thatguyonthenet on June 21st, 2021 at 09:35 UTC »

110 million years. Humans have what, 6000 years of solid history? The oldest homosapien skeletons are dating back around 300,000 years. All of humanity took place in 3/10ths of 1 million years.

It would still be 50 million years after these footprints before the extinction.

We are living on a old ass planet with alot of history.

Boat-enthusiast on June 21st, 2021 at 07:45 UTC »

Shocking that things are still being discovered in the UK, I figured we've already found everything.

autotldr on June 21st, 2021 at 06:00 UTC »

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 83%. (I'm a bot)

Footprints from a minimum of six different species of dinosaurs, the very last dinosaurs to steer on the united kingdom soil 110 million years ago, are found in Kent, a new report has announced.

Professor of Palaeobiology, David Martill, said: "This is that the first time dinosaur footprints are found in strata referred to as the 'Folkestone Formation' and it's quite extraordinary discovery because these dinosaurs would are the last to roam during this country before becoming extinct."

The footprints are from a variety of dinosaurs, which shows there was a relatively high diversity of dinosaurs in southern England at the end of the first cretaceous period, 110 million years ago.

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