A stepping stone that has been stepped on for decades, turns out to be a fossil of dinosaur footprints 190 million years ago
Dec 04, 2025
|
According to Hong Kong media South China Morning Post, a study on dinosaur footprints found in our village in Tsugung City, Sichuan Province, China, was completed on November 29. The Ding brothers, who live in the village, discovered a rock engraved with 'Chicken Footprint' during quarrying in 1998 and used it as a stepping stone in front of their house.
Tsugung City, where our village is located, is called 'Hometown of Chinese Dinosaurs', and more than 200 dinosaur and vertebrate fossils were found in the Jurassic Dinosaur Fossil Site in the mid-1970s and 1980s. Rare pterosaur and dinosaur skin fossils were also excavated, and a dinosaur museum was later established.
In 2017, the daughter of the Ding brothers posted a picture of the rock online to ask questions, and sharp claw marks, round marks, and linear traces attracted the attention of museum researchers.
A month later, experts confirmed that the rock was a dinosaur footprint fossil, and it was transferred to the museum with the consent of the family for analysis.
Recently, Chinese scientists published their findings in a journal specializing in archaeology.
The study identified 413 footprints from eight lithographs, estimated to be from the early Jurassic period about 180 million to 190 million years ago.
Most of them belong to the species Grallator and Eubrontes, the researchers said.
These dinosaurs used 'ground running' walking, similar to modern birds, and are estimated to have traveled at 5.8 to 8.6 km/h. In addition, rare tail drag marks were found, which may be traces of dinosaurs moving slowly, observing their surroundings or exhibiting aggressive behavior, the researchers explained.
The discovery made a big splash on Chinese social media.
Netizens can't believe that the brothers have been treading dinosaur footprints for decades", Comments such as "'I'm glad to learn about the ancient history of the Earth thanks to scientists discovering these traces' and "'Suchuan is not only a hot pot but also a hot spot for dinosaur discoveries.'"
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
