Officials in Italy discovered thousands of dinosaur footprints within a national park in the northern part of the country. Experts say the footprints reveal multiple behaviors.
Foreign news agencies report the discovery of thousands of dinosaur footprints dating back 210 million years in a national park in northern Italy. Some prints measure up to 40 cm in diameter, arranged in parallel lines, with many showing clear impressions of toes and claws.
It is believed these dinosaurs were prosauropods, herbivorous creatures with long necks, small heads, and sharp claws, reaching lengths of up to 10 meters. They primarily walked on two legs, but some footprints show hand impressions in front of the foot, indicating they may have rested by placing their front limbs on the ground.
Cristiano Dal Sasso, a paleontologist from Milan, said, “I never imagined encountering such an exciting discovery in the region where I live.”
In September, a photographer noticed these footprints stretching for hundreds of meters vertically along a cliff within Stelvio National Park, northeast of Milan.
During the Triassic period, between approximately 250 and 201 million years ago, this cliff was once a tidal flat before later becoming part of the Alps mountain range.
“This site is filled with dinosaurs; it is a vast scientific treasure,” Dal Sasso said, adding that the dinosaur herd moved in coordination and that there are traces of more complex behaviors, such as animals grouping in circles, possibly as a defense mechanism.
Elio Della Ferrera, the photographer who discovered the site, expressed hope that this finding will raise awareness about how little we know of the places we live, our homes, and our planet.
According to a press release from Italy's Ministry of Culture, the area is remote and inaccessible by footpaths, so drones and remote sensing technologies will be used for exploration instead.
Stelvio National Park is located in the Fraele valley near the Italy-Switzerland border, close to the venue for next year's Winter Olympic Games.
Italy's Ministry of Culture stated, “It is as if history wishes to pay tribute to the world's greatest sporting event by uniting past and present, symbolically passing the baton between nature and sport.”
.bbc