Jurassic Park

By Carmarlena Murdaca

Jurassic Park
In a discovery that is being heralded as the most “diverse” in the world, Australian scientists have uncovered 21 different types of dinosaur footprints on a stretch of remote Australian coastline.

Paleontologists from the University of Queensland and James Cook University led the study, which examined ancient rocks along the north-western coast of Western Australia. The findings, which were published in the Memoir of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, show the area was flush with dinosaurs, some of which would have been the world’s largest.

Dr Steve Salisbury was the lead author of the paper, and says that the findings show some footprints more than 1.7 metres in length. The nearest length in footprints previously discovered is only 106cm in length.

Dr Salisbury says the findings are significant in documenting Australia’s dinosaur history. Among the tracks is the only confirmed evidence for stegosaurus in Australia,” he says. “It’s such a magical place – Australia’s own Jurassic Park, in
a spectacular wilderness setting.” The rock formations are approximately 140 million years old, and are a part of the Kimberley region in Western Australia. The area is also of crucial cultural significance for Aboriginal Goolarabooloo people, who believe the dinosaur tracks form part of ancient Dreamtime songlines.

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