Engineers from the English Environment Agency came across something unusual during a land survey to strengthen the sea defenses of the Isle of Wight, southern England: a series of well-preserved dinosaur footprints. The footprints are probably 125 million years old.
The fossils are located near a beach cafe, a parking lot and a bus stop. For years they were invisible, but excavations have brought them to the surface. Experts believe the footprints are from a mantellisaurus, writes Environmental Agency.
The mantellisaurus fed almost exclusively on plants, was 7 meters long, weighed 750 kilos and had three fingers. The animal probably walked on its hind legs like an ostrich. He would have had all four feet on the ground only when he was still or moving slowly.
An adult Mantellisaurus would have been almost twice as long as the average car, but it was still not among the largest dinosaurs.
‘The richest dinosaur location in Europe’
The discovery of the footprints does not surprise experts. “The Isle of Wight is the richest dinosaur site in Europe,” says Martin Munt, curator of the Dinosaur Isle Museum.
“We located 35 different species. The area was also rich in plants, crocodiles, pterosaurs, amphibians, fish and invertebrates such as insects and freshwater mussels.”
That doesn’t make Munt any less happy with the discovery of the mantellisaurus footprints. “This is still a wonderful find.”
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