Dinosaur Footprints Found on Italian Mountain
- Editor OGN Daily
- 7 hours ago
- 2 min read
Thousands of dinosaur footprints dating back 210 million years have been found in a national park in northern Italy.
"This set of dinosaur footprints is one of the largest collections in all of Europe, in the whole world," Attilio Fontana, head of the Lombardy region in northern Italy, said during a news conference. The Stelvio national park is located close to Italy's border with Switzerland, near where the Winter Olympics will take place next year. And, no doubt with an eye on the PR benefits of the discovery, the Italian Ministry of Culture said: "It's as if history itself wanted to pay homage to the greatest global sporting event, combining past and present in a symbolic passing of the baton between nature and sport."
The remarkably well preserved dinosaur footprints - some of which are up to 40cm (15in) in diameter - are aligned in parallel rows over hundreds of yards, and many show clear traces of toes and claws. At the time, between about 250 and 200 million years ago, the wall was actually a tidal flat, which was gradually pushed up over millennia to become part of the Alpine chain. It is thought the dinosaurs were prosauropods that could be up to 10m (33ft) long. They were herbivores with long necks, small heads and sharp claws.
"I never would have imagined I'd come across such a spectacular discovery in the region where I live," said Milan-based paleontologist Cristiano Dal Sasso. "This place was full of dinosaurs; it's an immense scientific treasure."
Elio Della Ferrera, the photographer who discovered the site, said he hoped the discovery would "spark reflection in all of us, highlighting how little we know about the places we live in: our home, our planet".