Over 400 Cretaceous dinosaur footprint fossils discovered in SW China

KUNMING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- More than 400 dinosaur footprint fossils from the early Cretaceous period have been discovered in the Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Yunnan Province, according to researchers.

The fossils were found in the mountains in Konglongshan Town, Lufeng City. On-site determination has indicated that the rock strata containing the dinosaur footprints date back approximately 120 million years, said Wang Tao, head of the dinosaur fossil protection and research center of Lufeng.

Wang said the fossils can be classified into three types: large-sized footprints resembling those of sauropods, such as diplodocuses; footprints resembling those of theropods, such as tyrannosaurs; and footprints with noticeable depressions at the front end, indicating that the dinosaurs walked with their toes touching the ground and possibly belonging to stegosaurs or ankylosaurs.

"Based on on-site observations, it is speculated that this area may have been located on the edge of a lake, surrounded by abundant vegetation. After various types of dinosaurs finished feeding, they may have come to the lake to drink water and stepped into the mud and sand at the water's edge," Wang said.

Konglongshan Town, whose name translates to "dinosaur mountain," is a concentrated discovery area for fossilized dinosaur footprints. However, a discovery of such scale and variety is unprecedented, indicating the extensive presence of a diverse dinosaur population in the Lufeng area during the early Cretaceous period, according to the researcher.

Since 1938, over 120 dinosaur fossils have been excavated in Lufeng, yet none from the Cretaceous period had been discovered before now. Wang said that the newly discovered dinosaur footprints are of significant importance to future efforts to locate dinosaur fossils from the Cretaceous period in the area.