Buzz
While today the Isle of Skye in Scotland attracts visitors with its scenic views, 170 million years ago, it was a hotspot for one of the Earth's most famous dinosaurs. According to The Guardian, paleontologists have uncovered ancient footprints on the island, which are believed to have been left by a stegosaurus.
A new study by researchers from the University of Edinburgh, published in the journal Plos One, confirms that this discovery marks the first-ever evidence of stegosaurus on the Isle of Skye. The footprints, found in sedimentary rock on the island's eastern side, are roughly the size of grapefruits and form a line stretching several feet. The alternating pattern of right and left impressions suggests the tracks were made by a four-legged animal. The distinct triangular shape of the back feet and smaller front feet match those of the armored stegosaurus. If the prints indeed belong to this dinosaur, they represent one of the earliest fossil records of the species worldwide, according to the researchers.
The discovery of the stegosaurus tracks is just part of the exciting finds on the Isle of Skye. Paleontologists also uncovered footprints from theropods (the carnivorous group that included T. Rex), featuring three toes and claws, as well as stubby three-toed tracks that may belong to ornithopods, like duck-billed dinosaurs. In total, 50 new fossilized footprints were found.
The Isle of Skye has long been regarded as a prime site for dinosaur fossils. During the Middle Jurassic period, the region was characterized by a swampy, subtropical climate that supported a diverse array of wildlife. The recent discovery of tracks was made in a mudflat that once bordered a lagoon 170 million years ago. These mudflats were likely short-lived, soon being overtaken by the lagoon, suggesting that the creatures responsible for these prints lived in the area at the same time. The researchers note, "As a result of this diversity, we can infer that a thriving community of dinosaurs lived in and near the subtropical lagoons of Middle Jurassic Scotland."
