China News Service, Shanghang, Fujian, April 11 (Lin Sigan Yang Guoxin) Following the first discovery of fossils of late Cretaceous dinosaur footprints in Longxiang Village, Shanghang County, Fujian Province in November last year, the scientific research team discovered a large number of the same period. Dinosaur footprint fossils are densely distributed and larger in size.

The scientific research team newly discovered fossils of dinosaur footprints.

Photo by Lin Sigan

  According to Xing Lida, a doctoral supervisor of China University of Geosciences (Beijing), this dinosaur scientific expedition is an extension of last year’s scientific expedition. After nearly one week of clean-up work by the China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and the Fujian Institute of Geological Survey, the new About 364 dinosaur footprint fossils were discovered. In addition to the 240 dinosaur footprint fossils discovered for the first time in November last year, more than 600 dinosaur footprint fossils have been cleaned up in Longxiang Village, Shanghang.

The scientific research team newly discovered fossils of dinosaur footprints.

Photo by Lin Sigan

  At the dinosaur footprint group fossil cleaning site in Longxiang Village, Shanghang, dinosaur footprint fossils of different sizes appeared densely on a new slope.

According to Xing Lida, as the clean-up work continues to expand, it is expected that more than 1,000 dinosaur footprint fossils will be discovered in Shanghang.

Such dense dinosaur footprint group fossils are very rare in China.

The scientific research team newly discovered fossils of dinosaur footprints.

Photo by Lin Sigan

  In a clean-up site with an area of ​​about 100 square meters, this small area concentrated more than 200 dinosaur footprints.

According to Xing Lida, there are many dinosaur footprints in this area, which may be a channel for the daily activities of dinosaurs in the Late Cretaceous. At that time, many dinosaurs were walking around here in a relatively short period of time.

This phenomenon is vividly called the "dinosaur dance floor" by dinosaur footprint scholars.

  A larger sauropod dinosaur footprint was newly discovered during the expedition.

According to Xing Lida, this is a large dinosaur with a long neck and a long tail that eats plants. It can reach more than 20 meters in length.

Among the newly discovered fossils of dinosaur footprints, the footprints are less than 10 cm small and belong to the small ornithopod dinosaur footprints. After restoration, the body length of this dinosaur is about 1 meter.

  In November last year, the scientific expedition team discovered the dinosaur footprint fossil for the first time in Longxiang Village, Shanghang. According to the on-site inspection by relevant experts of the National Paleontological Fossil Expert Committee of the Ministry of Natural Resources, this dinosaur footprint group fossil is the largest and most diverse fossil found in China. The Late Cretaceous dinosaur footprint group is also the first discovery of large Deinonychus traces in China. This discovery is useful for studying the paleoenvironment, paleogeography, paleo-ecology of the Late Cretaceous period in Western Fujian, and the distribution and evolution of the global late Cretaceous dinosaur fauna has great significance.

  According to Chen Runsheng, deputy dean and chief engineer of the Fujian Institute of Geological Survey, who participated in the scientific research, the geological sedimentary structure here is very rich, and the corrugated sedimentary structure and the potential of benthic organisms at the same time as the Late Cretaceous dinosaurs have been found. This provides a reference for studying the living environment of dinosaurs.

Chen Runsheng speculated that this place is located near the water source, where dinosaurs used to eat and drink frequently. With the further in-depth scientific investigation and comprehensive investigation and research of the entire Shanghang Basin, some new discoveries other than dinosaur footprints cannot be ruled out.

  The rainy season is approaching, how to protect the fossils of the dinosaur footprints?

Xing Lida introduced that after this rescue work, the scientific expedition team will do some necessary protection work on the surface of the dinosaur footprint group fossils, so that these footprints can be properly protected before the permanent buildings are built.

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