Fuzhou, 12 Jan (Guangming Daily) -- On the 12th, it was learned from a press conference held by the Information Office of the Fujian Provincial Government that the fossils recently discovered in Shanghang County, Longyan City, Fujian Province, were found by relevant experts of the National Paleontological Fossils Expert Committee of the Ministry of Natural Resources to be fossils of the Late Cretaceous dinosaur footprint group, which is the first discovery of dinosaurs and their relics in Fujian.
According to preliminary surveys, the dinosaur footprint site covers an area of about 1600 square meters, and more than 240 dinosaur footprints have been cleared, which is the best preserved, largest area and highest diversity of Late Cretaceous dinosaur footprints found in China. Experts believe that the discovery is of great value for studying the paleoenvironment, paleogeography, paleoecology, and distribution and evolution of dinosaur fauna in the late Cretaceous period about 80 million years ago.
Huang Qinghui, vice mayor of Longyan City, said that on November 7, 2020, under the initiative and guidance of the relevant departments of Fujian Province, the Fujian Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum and the China University of Geosciences (Beijing) formed a joint expedition team to investigate and investigate dinosaur resources in Fujian Province, and found the fossils of late Cretaceous dinosaur footprints for the first time in Longxiang Village, Lincheng Town, Shanghang County, Longyan City.
Expedition team members study dinosaur footprints (drone photo taken on November 9, 2020). Profile picture
Picture of a small Chiron footprint
Large birdfoot footprint data picture
Large dinosaur footprint data picture
On December 15, 2020, Wang Lixia, full-time deputy director of the Office of the National Paleontological Fossil Expert Committee, Peng Guangzhao, member of the National Paleontological Fossil Expert Committee and former director of the Sichuan Zigong Dinosaur Museum, and Li Daqing, member of the National Paleontological Fossil Expert Committee and director of the Institute of Paleontology and Vertebrate Paleontology of Gansu Agricultural University, and other three experts conducted in-depth field investigations and carried out the identification work. According to the inspection opinions of the expert group, the fossils of the Late Cretaceous dinosaur footprint group found in Shanghang County this time are the first discoveries of dinosaurs and their remains in Fujian Province, which is of great significance to the study of dinosaurs in Fujian Province.
It is understood that dinosaur footprints have their own classification system, and the foot skeleton structure of different large categories of dinosaurs is very different. Xing Lida, associate professor and doctoral supervisor of the School of Earth Sciences and Resources of China University of Geosciences (Beijing), said that there are at least eight kinds of tracers (dinosaurs) such as plant-eating sauropods, large, medium and small bird feet, carnivorous large three-toed theropods, two-toed dinosaurs, and small theropods in Shanghang.
"These footprints vary greatly, with carnivorous theropods having three-toed shapes and very sharp claw marks; dinosaurs in the theropods being bi-toed; sauropod footprints consisting of front and back footprints, which are large round pits, and some of which have three stout claw marks; and the posterior footprints of duck-billed dragons are three-toed, and the toes are shaped like clover leaves, and the claw marks are very blunt." According to reports, at present, the expedition team has cleared more than 240 dinosaur footprints at the level of argillaceous siltstone or siltstone mudstone. Most of these dinosaur footprints are well preserved, and the track patterns are clear, reflecting information such as the walking speed of dinosaurs. At the level of footprints, a wealth of sedimentary structures and fossils such as wave marks, mud cracks, and insect traces are preserved, showing the life of dinosaurs in the dry season lakeside (lakeshore zone or lake beach) activities (such as drinking water and eating).
At the same time, the traces of large dinosaurs in the fossil area are the first to be found in China, and the largest such footprints found in China. Xing Lida said that such a high diversity is concentrated in an area of more than 1600 square meters, which is very shocking. These findings are of great value for the study of paleogeography and paleoecology in the late Cretaceous period.
Peng Guangzhao believes that Fujian has great potential in dinosaur fossil resources. "From geological data, it is known that the Mesozoic strata of Fujian dinosaur life are very extensive, especially in some basins in the western Fujian region adjacent to Jiangxi and Guangdong, such as Shanghang, Liancheng, Wuping, Zhangping, Yong'an, etc., most of the surface exposed are continental sedimentary strata of the dinosaur era, which are similar to the sedimentary environment in Ganzhou, Jiangxi, Heyuan and other areas where a large number of dinosaur bones and dinosaur egg fossils have been found." Peng Guangzhao said that the discovery of the Shanghang dinosaur footprint group is a good start for the discovery of dinosaur fossils in Fujian, and I believe that more and more dinosaur fossils will be discovered in the future, not only dinosaur footprints, but also dinosaur bones, and even dinosaur egg fossils.
Niu Kecheng, executive director of the Fujian Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum, holds the same view. He said that the red layer basin of western Fujian contains a large number of plant fossils and some bivalves fossils, and there is a lot of evidence that dinosaurs in the paleoenvironment at that time could have survived. "Theoretically, Fujian has every potential to preserve dinosaur entities or fossil remains. It was on the basis of this information that we launched this joint expedition, which led to this major discovery. ”
It is understood that after the first discovery of dinosaur footprints in Shanghang County, the relevant local departments intervened for the first time and took protective measures such as setting up fences, installing monitoring equipment, and hiring security personnel to be on duty. Luo Jian, deputy secretary of the Shanghang County Party Committee and secretary of the party group of the county government, said that Shanghang County will plan the protection and utilization of dinosaur footprint groups accordingly: First, establish a dinosaur footprint group protection work organization in Shanghang County, set up a special work class, and effectively do a good job in the protection of dinosaur footprint groups. The second is to carry out the investigation of paleontological fossil resources, hire dinosaur footprint research experts, and carry out paleontological fossil resources surveys in the county's jurisdiction, focusing on the Cretaceous period and finding out the family background. The third is to strengthen the protection of the original site, before the construction of permanent protection facilities (such as dinosaur museums), take effective measures to protect the fossil production area, including the reproduction and modeling of representative and typical dinosaur footprints in advance, the construction of temporary protective sheds, and the weathering treatment of fossils and rock formations to prevent man-made or natural damage. The fourth is to build a research platform for dinosaur footprint protection in Shanghang, and invite dinosaur fossil research experts to jointly study and discuss the paleoenvironment, paleogeography, paleoecology of the late Cretaceous in western Fujian, as well as the distribution and evolution of dinosaur fauna in the late Cretaceous period around the world. At the same time, it is also planned to hold relevant seminars and forums at appropriate times to exchange and discuss experiences related to dinosaur footprint protection. Fifth, on the basis of learning from advanced experience and practices, we should formulate scientific and feasible conservation plans and development and utilization plans as soon as possible, build a natural history museum, and promote the high-quality development of the cultural tourism industry in Shanghang.
Guangming Daily ( 2021-01-13 08 edition)
Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily