An international team of paleontologists has discovered a 5.7 cm long stegosaurus footprint in Xinjiang province, China.
A living reconstruction of the stegosaur pathfinders and the paleo environment 110 million years ago. Image credit: Kaitoge.
The newly discovered stegosaurus footprint was left about 110 million years ago (early Cretaceous).
It belongs to the ichnogenus Delta Pod and occurs along with the spores of larger individuals.
It is found in the Tugulu group, Xinjiang province in China, but it is only 15% as long as the species Deltapodus curriei from the same environment.
‘This footprint was made by a herbivorous, armored dinosaur commonly known as a stegosaurus – the family of dinosaurs that includes the famous Stegosaurus, ”Says dr. Anthony Romilio, a paleontologist at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Queensland.
‘As Stegosaurus, this little dinosaur probably had as an adult nails to its tail and bony plates along its back. ”
“With a footprint of less than 6 cm, it is the smallest stegosaurus footprint in the world.”
“This is in stark contrast to other stegosaurus prints found at the Chinese track yard, which measured up to 30 cm, and prints found in places like Broome in Western Australia, where it can be up to 80 cm. “
The world’s smallest stegosaurus footprint, Xingjiang province, China. Image credit: Lida Xing.
The small stegosaurus footprint has similar characteristics to other stegosaurus footprints with three short, wide, round toe impressions.
Dr. However, Romilio and colleagues found that the pressure was not elongated, like larger prints discovered on the track, suggesting that the young stegosaurus had a different behavior.
“Stegosaurs usually walk with their heels on the ground, just like humans, but on four feet that create long footprints,” said Dr. Romilio said.
“The small orbit shows that this dinosaur pulled up from the ground with its heel, just as a bird or cat does today.”
“We have only seen shortened tracks before as dinosaurs walked on two legs.”
“It was plausible that young stegosaurs were adversaries,” said Dr. Lida Xing, a paleontologist at the state’s key laboratory for biogeology and environmental geology, said.
“It may be possible because it is the ancestral condition and an attitude of most dinosaurs, but the stegosaurus could also have transitioned to heel run as it got older.”
“A complete set of footprints from these small footprints will give us the answer to this question, but unfortunately we have only one footprint.”
The study was published online in the journal Palaios.
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Lida Xing et al. 2021. Stegosaur Trace Composition of Xinjiang, China, with the smallest known stegosaurus record. Palaios 36 (2): 68-76; doi: 10.2110 / palo.2020.036