Fossils of dinosaur footprints, water ripples found in East China

Jinan: Well-preserved fossils of dinosaur footprints and water ripples were found during a field survey carried out by Zhucheng Dinosaur Culture Research Center in east China’s Shandong Province.

The fossils were found at a fossil site in Zhucheng City and rock formation in this site dates back to the early Cretaceous period. It can preliminarily be confirmed that the newly found dinosaur footprints belong to both sauropods and theropods, the research center said.

Previously, footprints of these two types of dinosaurs were also found at a fossil site some 10 km away, offering concrete evidence that a large number of sauropods and theropods had been living around during the Mesozoic Era.

The place where the water ripple fossils were discovered was once a shallow lake, indicating that the Zhucheng area during the Mesozoic Era was densely vegetated and very suitable for the survival of dinosaurs, said Chen Shuqing from the center.

“At that time, the climate was dry and the lake was very shallow, and when the wind blew, imprints of water ripples were left on the lakeshore,” Chen added.

Rich in dinosaur fossil resources, Zhucheng is known as the dinosaur city of China. Since the 1960s, more than 30 dinosaur fossil burial sites have been discovered there, with a burial area of nearly 1,000 square km.