An international team ofresearchersin south-easternChinahasdiscoveredfive raptor footprints believed to be from 95 million years ago.
Each of the raptor tracks measured approximately 14 inches (36 cm) long, making them the “largest raptor footprints ever found,” according to thestudypublished in the journalScience.
“When you say ‘raptor,’ everyone thinks of the CGI critters fromJurassic Park. But ‘raptor’ is like ‘cat,'”explainedDr. Scott Persons, a professor of paleontology at the College of Charleston and a member of the research team.
HighlightsResearchers in China discovered raptor footprints from 95 million years ago, measuring 14 inches long.The footprints were found in Fujian province and are the largest raptor footprints ever discovered.The species named Fujianipus yingliangi was estimated to be 15 feet long.
A team of researchers at the Chinese province of Fujian have discovered the largest known raptor footprints
Image credits:a_romilio
“The details on many of the prints are also strikingly good. You can see the shape of individual fleshy pads on each toe.”
The footprints were analyzed thanks to a technique known as photogrammetry, which takes photographs from different angles and builds 3D views of the tracks.
Raptor footprints are easily identified because these predators had four claws on each foot: two load-bearing claws, a larger claw, and a smaller one
The largest tracks measured approximately 14 inches (36 cm) long
Image credits:iscience
Researchers estimated that the species, namedFujianipus yingliangi, was around 15 feet (5 meters) long and 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 meters) high at the hip.
In addition to their significant size, another surprising aspect of theraptorfootprints was their location.
Paleontologistsbelieve theFujianipusmight belong to a family of dinosaurs called troodontids, given the proportions of their toes.
“That’s exciting because big troodontids aren’t known from Asia,” Persons said. “The only other known large troodontids lived in prehistoric Alaska.”
Raptor footprints are easily identified because the predators had four claws on each foot: two load-bearing claws, a larger claw, and a smaller one.
The other prints found in Fujian are thought to have belonged to a smaller, 1-meter velociraptor.
The team estimated that the species, namedFujianipusyingliangi, was around 15 feet (5 meters) long
In case you were wondering about thesmallest known dinosaur footprints, they measured only one centimeter (0.4 inches) long.
The tiny tracks belonged to a raptor and were found in South Korea in 2018.
Dr. Anthony Romilio of the University of Queensland said the animal was so small that it could have easily fit in your hand.
“It just goes to show the incredible size range among raptordinosaurs, highlighting their adaptability and ecological diversity,”saidDr. Romilio.
“This is my favorite dinosaur now,” a reader commented
Lei RV
Renan Duarte
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