(MENAFN- Live Mint) In an astonishing revelation that feels straight out of a Jurassic Park film, researchers have unearthed hundreds of dinosaur footprints in a quarry in Oxfordshire, southern England. Dating back approximately 166 million years to the Middle Jurassic era, these footprints provide a fascinating glimpse into the prehistoric world of giant reptiles.
The discovery was made at Dewars Farm Quarry, where palaeontologists from the Universities of Oxford and Birmingham found five extensive trackways. Among these tracks, one stretches over an impressive 150 metres!
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In this undated photo provided by Oxford University Museum of Natural History and the University of Birmingham on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, a view of a dinosaur footprint uncovered on five extensive trackways that formed part of a 'dinosaur highway,' found at Dewars Farm Quarry, in Oxfordshire, England.
Four of the trackways belong to colossal, long-necked herbivores known as sauropods, likely a species called Cetiosaurus , which could reach lengths of up to 18 metres. The fifth trackway belongs to the fearsome carnivore Megalosaurus, identifiable by its distinctive three-toed prints with sharp claws.
The significance of this find is heightened by the fact that the tracks overlap at one point, raising intriguing questions about how these two types of dinosaurs may have interacted.
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Emma Nicholls, a vertebrate palaeontologist at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, remarked on the importance of these discoveries:“Scientists have been studying Megalosaurus for longer than any other dinosaur on Earth, and yet these recent findings prove there is still new evidence waiting to be uncovered.”
A handout photograph taken by vertebrate palaeontologist, Dr Emma Nicholls, and released by the Oxford University of Natural History on January 2, 2025 shows members of the excavation team working on the footprints at the Dewars Farm Quarry, north of Oxford in central England on June 17, 2024. Nearly 200 dinosaur footprints were discovered this summer in a quarry in Oxfordshire, an exceptional site among the largest in the entire country, the universities of Oxford and Birmingham announced on Thursday, January 2, 2024. The footprints came to light thanks to quarry worker Gary Johnson, who noticed "unusual bumps" while operating machinery to expose the quarry floor. Following his discovery, over 100 researchers and volunteers worked tirelessly during a week-long excavation in June 2024, ultimately uncovering around 200 footprints.
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This discovery of dinosaur footprints not only enriches our understanding of dinosaur behaviour and interactions but also highlights the ongoing excitement surrounding palaeontological research in the UK .
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The excavation will be featured on BBC Two's Digging for Britain on January 8 and will form part of a new exhibition titled Breaking Ground at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.
As we continue to unveil the mysteries of our planet's past, it seems that Jurassic Park is becoming a reality in Britain!
(With inputs from Reuters)
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