The Pauluxy River Footprints were discovered in the eponymous river in 1908. Indeed, they were one of the most significant discoveries in the history of paleontology. Why? Because what the paleontologists found at the bottom of the river wasn’t only the footsteps of one dinosaur. In fact, they discovered a miles long bed cluttered with a multitude of footsteps left by several dinosaur species interacting with each other. Consequently, humanity could draw many new conclusions from this incredible find.
The trails indicate that they were left in the ground during a hunt. Experts say that a herd of sauropods were chased by a small group of carnivorous theropods, which then led to this magnificent legacy they delivered to posterity. The prints show for instance that the sauropods protected their young by driving them into the middle of the herd. The prints also demonstrate how the theropods hunted and shed light on other fascinating aspects. Another interesting conclusion that was drawn upon analyzing the prints was the posture of the dinosaurs and the position of their tails when walking. In fact, the dinosaurs held them above the ground and didn’t trail them along the ground.
Furthermore, skeletons of unknown species were found near the footprints, which makes the Pauluxy river a real goldmine for scientists.
But it seems that not only scientists appreciate the discovery of the prints. Creationists for instance consider the theropod prints as human footprints which would back their theory of the humans having co-existed with the dinosaurs. If this was true, the theory of evolution would be wrong. Oh well, either way, nobody can deny the fact that the Pauluxy tracks were one of the most sensational and controversial finds in the last century.
Image: © flickr mcdlttx
