Urumqi Evening News All Media News (Wentu/Reporter Liang Le) Recently, Professor Zhang Shangfeng of the School of Earth Sciences of Yangtze University and his scientific research team found a large number of fossil dinosaur footprints during the Jurassic period in the Tarim Basin. After the identification of authoritative experts, it is determined that it belongs to the fossil footprints of theropod carnivorous dinosaurs.
This discovery fills the gap in the research related to the Tarim Basin, expands the geographical distribution range of dinosaurs, and adds new evidence to the study of biological affinity between the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. In the next step, the scientific research team will conduct in-depth research based on footprint fossils and gradually uncover the survival code of dinosaurs in the Jurassic period.
On June 30, the reporter contacted Zhang Shangfeng, who was conducting a field expedition in the Tarim Basin, by phone. "This discovery is both accidental and inevitable, and is an important breakthrough in dinosaur research." Zhang Shangfeng said.
In March this year, Zhang Shangfeng and the project team of "Typical Outcrop Geological Information Collection and Geological Engineering Integration Practice Base Construction in Tarim Basin" came to the Tarim Basin in southern Xinjiang. The project is jointly cooperated by the School of Earth Sciences of Yangtze University and petroChina Tarim Oilfield Company, one is to establish an information-based petroleum geological database, and the other is to establish a standardized geological profile base for new employees and researchers to visit and learn.
"The Tarim Basin is rich in oil and gas resources, and our project is ultimately laying the groundwork for further exploration." Zhang Shangfeng said that in order to complete the project with quality and quantity, Yangtze University sent a scientific research team of more than 20 people.
As Xinjiang enters the summer, the Tarim Basin also enters a period of high temperatures. The working area of the project team is high in altitude, vegetation is small, and the geological conditions are very complex. "Fortunately, with the help of many engineers such as Lei Ming, Zhang Wen, Chen Naidong and Li Gongcheng of the Tarim Oilfield Research Institute, we were able to overcome the harsh local climate and natural environment and ensure the smooth development of the project." Zhang Shangfeng said.
Although he is mainly engaged in the research of sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy and other geological fields, Zhang Shangfeng also has a strong interest in the field of paleontological research. "Dinosaur fossils have been found in the same layer in northern Xinjiang before, but they have not been found in southern Xinjiang. According to my deduction, in ancient times, the northern and southern frontiers were not blocked by the Tianshan Mountains, and the geographical areas should be connected, and the species should also be able to communicate, so it is likely that there will be dinosaurs in the southern xinjiang. Zhang Shangfeng said that with this scientific problem, he and his team also paid attention to looking for dinosaur fossils when collecting geological information.
In mid-June, the project team found a large number of raised footprints on a hillside on the southwest edge of the Tarim Basin.
"These footprints have been engraved on the hard rock, about 30 centimeters in length, and we have preliminarily judged from the appearance that it is a dinosaur footprint fossil." Zhang Shangfeng said that this "unexpected" discovery made everyone very excited, and they immediately contacted authoritative institutions such as the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and finally identified it as a fossil footprint belonging to theropod carnivorous dinosaurs. This is the first time that dinosaur footprint fossils have been found in the Tarim Basin, filling a gap in research related to this area.
Zhang Shangfeng introduced that the Tarim Basin during the Jurassic period should be a lake environment, with low-lying terrain and shallow lake water, providing a very suitable living environment for dinosaurs and other organisms. "Theropod dinosaurs should have been on flat ground, but the fossil footprints found this time were on the hillside, because the long geological evolution has changed the topography of this area." Zhang Shangfeng said that in addition to the exposed fossils, there are some that may be buried deep in the formation, and further investigation is needed.
Zhang Shangfeng said that dinosaur footprint fossils opened the door to the ancient world. Through the footprints, you can calculate the height, weight, travel speed, etc. of dinosaurs, as well as obtain a variety of ecological information such as dinosaur life habits and group activities, which is helpful to understand the environment in which dinosaurs lived.
More importantly, this important discovery expands the geographical distribution range of dinosaurs, and also adds new evidence of biological affinity between the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains to explore the evolution of dinosaurs and the change of paleoclimate.