This place is found with a large group of dinosaur footprints! Or there are "new dinosaurs" unknown to humans.
Lincheng Town, Shanghang County, Longyan City, Fujian Province
Fossils of late Cretaceous dinosaur footprints have been discovered!
First excavation
There are more than 240 dinosaur footprint fossils!
This is the largest area found in China so far,
The most diverse Group of Late Cretaceous dinosaur footprints,
It is also the first time that a record of dinosaur activity has been found in Fujian Province.
On the 12th,
A number of experts on Chinese paleontological fossils
The news was disclosed at a press conference.
More than 240 dinosaur footprints have been cleared
It is characterized by large area and high diversity
According to an expert group composed of 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 Zigong Dinosaur Museum in Sichuan, and Li Daqing, member of the National Paleontological Fossil Expert Committee and director of the Institute of Paleontology of Gansu Agricultural University, it was determined that the fossils of the Late Cretaceous dinosaur footprint group discovered in Lincheng Town, Shanghang County, Longyan City, Fujian Province, on November 7, 2020.
Chronology of the Age of Dinosaurs. Image credit: The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs by Steve Brusart
According to preliminary surveys, the fossil production area of Shanghang is about 1600 square meters, and more than 240 dinosaur footprints have been cleared, showing the characteristics of large area, high diversity and good preservation.
Fossils of late Cretaceous dinosaur footprints found in Shanghang County are being excavated at the site. Image source: Propaganda Department of Shanghang County CPC Committee
Experts believe that the discovery is of great value for studying the paleoenvironment, paleogeography, paleoecology of China's late Cretaceous period, as well as the distribution and evolution of dinosaur fauna in this period.
Aerial view of the footprint point. Photo courtesy of the Propaganda Department of the Shanghang County CPC Committee
At least eight tracers were found
Or there are "new dinosaurs" unknown to humans.
What dinosaurs do these footprints belong to?
"This discovery is very shocking and very important." Xing Lida, associate professor of China University of Geosciences (Beijing), was interviewed by China News Agency and issued a number of fossil photos of dinosaur footprints. He said that in Shanghang, there are at least eight kinds of tracers (dinosaurs) such as plant-eating sauropods, large, medium and small ornithopods, carnivorous large three-toed theropods, two-toed dinosaurs, and small theropods. "It is possible that new genera and species have been discovered in the eight major categories of dinosaurs."
Fossils of late Cretaceous dinosaur footprints found in Shanghang County. Photo by Linsqian
Xing Lida said that dinosaur footprints are their own classification system, different types of dinosaurs, their foot skeletal structure has a great difference, these unique features will be reflected in the shape of the footprints, so we can judge whether the trace dinosaurs are carnivorous or plant-eating.
According to the outline and shape of dinosaur footprints, it can also distinguish between theropods, sauropods, small ornithopods, iguanodon-duck-billed dragons, stegosaurus, ankylosaurs and horned dragons.
Carnivorous theropod footprints. Xing Lida team Courtesy photo
Duck-billed dragon footprints. Xing Lida team Courtesy photo
The first theropod dinosaur footprint to be found. Xing Lida team Courtesy photo
Through the outline and shape of dinosaur footprints, it can be distinguished:
Carnivorous theropods are three-toed and have very sharp claw marks;
The dinosaurs in the theropods are bi-toed, and the sauropod footprints are composed of front and back footprints, all of which resemble large round pits, and some of the posterior footprints have about three thick claw marks;
The posterior footprints of the platypus are three-toed, the toes are shaped like clover leaves, and the claw marks are very rough.
In Xing Lida's view, this large dinosaur footprint group also has important global comparative significance, "can be compared with the Late Cretaceous dinosaur footprint group in the United States or other countries, to study the diversity and living habits of dinosaur species at the end of the dinosaur period, paleogethology and so on." ”
According to experts, in Shanghang, Fujian Province, from small dinosaurs of one or two meters to dinosaurs of nine meters and ten meters have been found, "occupying the top of the food chain is a large carnivorous dinosaur with footprints of about 30 or 40 centimeters."
Xing Lida speculated, "This place may have been a lake or a river, and dinosaurs lived here periodically, and the number may be more than 240." ”
He was particularly impressed that one of the protagonists of the Jurassic Park movie, such as dinosaurs, dragons, Utahosaurus, etc., because daily activities would raise the second toe high to prevent sharp claws from being worn by the ground, so the footprints were very recognizable, "a string of two-toed footprints".
The first excavations included more than 240 fossil dinosaur footprints. Image source: Propaganda Department of Shanghang County CPC Committee
Xing Lida said that dinosaur footprints have been found in East Asia and the United States, the size is generally relatively small; in 2017, Chinese paleontologists in Nanxiong, Guangdong Province, found footprints of 20 or 30 centimeters of dinosaurs, scholars believe that south China may have had a large dinosaur in the late Cretaceous, this time in Shanghang found a string of "very beautiful, very large, nearly 40 cm footprints", confirming the academic conjecture.
"This is the first time china has been found, and it is also the largest dinosaur footprint ever found in China and possibly in the world." He said.
Uncover the story behind the fossils of dinosaur footprints in Shanghang, Fujian
And Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces bordering Fujian have already found a large number of dinosaur fossils, why did Fujian delay in unveiling the "dinosaur" veil?
The expedition was initiated by the Fujian Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum and formed a joint expedition with China University of Geosciences (Beijing).
A member of the expedition team is inspecting the site. Photo by Linsqian
Site excavation drawings. Photo by Linsqian
Niu Kecheng, executive director of the Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum in Fujian Province, said frankly that the preservation of dinosaur fossils requires continuous continental sedimentary rocks. The eastern part of Fujian Province is covered by a large number of volcanic rocks due to the yanshan movement, only western Fujian and northern Fujian have a small number of late Cretaceous red layers, and sporadically distributed between a large number of fault zones in the Cretaceous southeast China region, scattered and broken, it is very difficult to find dinosaur fossils.
Review the dinosaur footprint discovery process
Xing Lida still can't hide his excitement when he reviews the dinosaur footprint group to the China News Agency reporter. On the morning of November 7, 2020, the expedition team surveyed the red layer around Shanghang County and found no valuable clues. In the afternoon, the two leaders of the expedition team, Niu Kecheng and Xing Lida, discussed that the team members were more tired in the morning, so it was better to look for some outcrops at the construction site near Shanghang County in the afternoon to see the lithology.
Expedition members study dinosaur footprints. Xing Lida team Courtesy photo
At 16:00 on the same day, the expedition team member Miao Shengshui drove to the side of the Longxiang Avenue Experimental Middle School and found a bare hillside, and the large area of sandstone layers was very eye-catching. Niu Kecheng quipped: "It's this slope, this slope is flat and large, if there is enough for us to do it for a while."
Niu Kecheng climbed the slope first, and found some scattered mud cracks, wave marks and insect traces on the slope. Xing Lida led the student team to observe the insect traces on some collapsed rocks down the slope, and was surprised by the exquisite appearance of these geological relics. At this point, everyone realized that all the signs here suggested that dinosaur footprints were more likely.
The trail left by the dinosaurs is very clear. Xing Lida team Courtesy photo
Xing Lida had just climbed the hillside, and between the feet of Niu Kecheng and the pit dug by the locals to plant trees, he saw a well-preserved, clear three-toed footprint with a very obvious claw mark at the end of the footprint, which must have been left by an animal, and screamed on the spot: "Dinosaur footprint!" This is definitely a dinosaur footprint! ”。
The expedition team members were excited, and after further cleaning the level where the fossils were located, ten, dozens, and hundreds of footprints were gradually discovered, thus unveiling the prelude to the great discovery of the Shanghang dinosaur footprint group.
"The search for fossils is sometimes like finding a needle in a haystack, and each milestone discovery can be preceded by years or even decades of obscure accumulation." Niu Kecheng said.
The site is being excavated. Image source: Propaganda Department of Shanghang County CPC Committee
"The potential of dinosaur fossil resources in Fujian is very large." Peng Guangzhao, a member of the National Expert Committee on Paleontological Fossils, said that the Mesozoic strata of Dinosaur Life in Fujian are very extensive, especially in the basins of Shanghang, Liancheng, Wuping, Zhangping, Yong'an and other basins in western Fujian adjacent to Jiangxi and Guangdong, and similar to the sedimentary environment in Ganzhou, Jiangxi, Heyuan, Guangdong and other areas where a large number of dinosaur bones and dinosaur egg fossils have been found.
Dinosaur footprints and dinosaur skeleton fossils are formed in different natures and different buried environmental states of dinosaurs, so in general, in a relatively small range of the same formation, dinosaur footprints and dinosaur skeleton fossils will not appear at the same time, but if in a relatively large area (such as the Shanghang Basin), different sedimentary environments, different geological age of the strata, both are possible to find.
Peng Guangzhao said: "This is very easy to understand, since there are dinosaurs living in this area, they may also be preserved somewhere after death to become fossils, which is the case in other dinosaur fossil producing areas such as Sichuan, Yunnan, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Jiangxi, Guangdong, etc." ”
"I believe that more and more dinosaur fossils will be discovered in Fujian in the future, not only dinosaur footprints, but also dinosaur bones, and even dinosaur egg fossils." Peng Guangzhao said.
Appropriate local protective measures are taken
Wen Yong, director of the Longyan Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources, said that local officials have installed 24-hour monitoring equipment at the footprint site and taken emergency protection measures to avoid the loss and weathering of the rock formations at the footprint group.
Shanghang scenery map. Photo courtesy of the Propaganda Department of the Shanghang County CPC Committee
Luo Jian, deputy secretary of the Cpc Shanghang County CPC Committee, told reporters that the local government will set up a shanghang county dinosaur footprint group protection work organization; hire dinosaur footprint research experts to carry out paleontological fossil resources investigation; build permanent protection facilities such as the dinosaur museum, and will build an international dinosaur footprint protection research platform in Shanghang.
Data map: Longyan Yongding Chuxi Tulou Group. Courtesy of Fujian Cultural and Tourism Department
Infographic: National Natural Heritage Site and National Geopark Liancheng Guanzhi Mountain. Photo courtesy of the Propaganda Department of Longyan Municipal Party Committee
Luo Jian said that the local government will also rely on the existing museums, genealogy halls and other resources of the Hakka Yuanyuan Cultural Center to build a natural history museum.
Source: China News Service