UQ Dino Lab Research Associate Dr Anthony Romilio was part of the team that investigated the track, originally found by Associate Professor Lida Xing from the China University of Geosciences (Beijing).
“This footprint was made by a herbivorous, armoured dinosaur known as a stegosaur – the group of dinosaurs that includes the famed Stegosaurus stenops,” Dr Romilio said.
“Like other stegosaurs, this little dinosaur probably had spikes on its tail and bony plates along its back as an adult.
“But with a length of just under 6 centimetres, this is the smallest stegosaur footprint known in the world.
“It’s in strong contrast with other stegosaur prints found at the Chinese track site which measured up to 30 centimetres, and prints found in places like the Kimberley in Western Australia where they can be up to 80 centimetres.”
Read the full UQ News story here.
