Stegosaurus footprints found on Isle of Skye

[Judi Lynn]

Grapefruit-sized tracks are first evidence that iconic dinosaurs roamed Scotland

Nicola Davis

@NicolaKSDavis
Wed 11 Mar 2020 15.59 EDT

Grapefruit-sized depressions found in rocks on the Isle of Skye have revealed that a type of stegosaurus once wandered the landscape, researchers say.

The newly discovered tracks form a single line, a few metres long, with a right-left pattern and two different-sized prints – as would be expected for an animal on all fours – with one set larger and triangular-shaped, and the other set smaller and further forwards.

“Those proportions match up quite well to the hands and feet of stegosaurus skeletons,” said Dr Stephen Brusatte, a palaeontologist and co-author of the study from the University of Edinburgh. “These footprints are the first evidence we have that this very major, very iconic group of dinosaurs lived in Scotland.”

Brusatte added that the dinosaur who made the prints was about the size of a cow, while the prints themselves are the size of a grapefruit or small teapot. The team add that the tracks were found in sedimentary rocks thought to be about 170 million years old, which formed from mudflats that once bordered a lagoon.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/mar/11/stegosaurus-footprints-found-on-isle-of-skye



Images of the Isle:
https://tinyurl.com/rupv9lf