The Canada Brief

Tech · 7 d ago

Dinosaur footprint cast, Isle of Wight (illustrative)

Jim Champion · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Dozens of dinosaur footprints found in Michoacán, Mexico

Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History confirmed around 50 fossil footprints in Apatzingán, Michoacán, left about 65 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous.

San Juan de los Plátanos

Apatzingán, Michoacán

Residents alerted authorities to the tracks near a stream in the community of San Juan de los Plátanos.

Three groups of dinosaurs

  • Large theropod, possibly tyrannosaur-related
  • Smaller three-toed dromaeosaurids
  • Plant-eating hadrosaurs

The prints appear to come from three groups, though more study is needed: a large theropod, smaller dromaeosaurids and plant-eating hadrosaurs.

Area covered by the first prints

40 square metres of rock

The first prints cover about 40 square metres of sedimentary rock beside a river and measure 12 to 48 centimetres long.