Researchers at the University of Arkansas study the new field of fossil footprints of dinosaurs, including one of a series that seems to come from a large predator three fingers, the university said Wednesday.
The tracks were found on private land in southwest Arkansas and give a window of life forms that roamed the area for as long as 120 million years ago during the early Cretaceous.
"The quality of tracks and trackways length makes it an important place," said Stephen K. Boss, who led the project.
The research effort is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
Based on the cliff where the tracks have been found, scientists have a good idea of how the climate would have been like, Boss said.
"Picture of a very similar environment to the shores of the Persian Gulf today. The air temperature was hot. The water was shallow and very salty," said Boss. "It was a hostile environment. We're not sure what animals were made here, but clearly they were there in abundance. "
Some of the tracks in the region has not been documented before in Arkansas. The researchers will work to broaden the knowledge about dinosaurs that lived in the region and climate of the time.
Three-toed dinosaur tracks are about 2 feet long 1 foot wide, and is likely to come from Acrocanthosaurus atokensis, one of the largest predators ever known. It also prints sauropods, large, long-necked plant-eating dinosaurs. Other songs such as sauropods have been found in the state, including on-site at Nashville, also in south-west of the state.
"Thanks to the slopes, you can learn all kinds of things the biomechanics and behavior of dinosaurs," said researcher Kansas State University Brian Platt, who participates in the program. "Dinosaur bones can be transported by animals or washed away by the sea. But we know that about 120 million years, dinosaurs walking around here."
For more information related to dinosaurs, visit rareresource.com.
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