The Carreras Pampa site in Torotoro National Park, Bolivia, has 1,321 tracks and 289 single tracks, for a total of 16,600 theropod dinosaur tracks; 280 swimming lanes, total 1378 swimming lanes; and several tracks with tail marks.
Dinosaur tracks along the Carreras Pampa highway in Torotoro National Park, Bolivia. Image credit: Esperante etc.., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0335973.
Bolivia has one of the most extensive and diverse records of dinosaur footprints in the world, spanning the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
However, despite the abundance of traces, very little scientific research has been published.
In a new study, Geosciences Research Institute paleontologist Raul Esperante and his colleagues document an unprecedented diversity of dinosaur tracks along the Carreras Pampas Trail in Torotoro National Park.
Across nine study sites, they found 16,600 footprints left by three-toed theropod dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period.
These tracks range in size from tiny (less than 10 cm) to large (over 30 cm) and record a variety of dinosaur behaviors, including running, swimming, tail dragging and even sharp turns.
“The majority (80%) of the Waymasters had hip heights between 65cm and 1.15m, with a larger percentage in the 75cm to 1.05m range,” the paleontologists said.
“It is remarkable that very few trackmakers exceeded 1.25m in height.”
Most of these tracks are oriented roughly northwest to southeast, with ripple marks preserved in the sediments, suggesting that these dinosaurs roamed along an ancient coastline.
“The Carreras-Pampas Track sets new world records for the number of individual dinosaur tracks, continuous tracks, tail tracks and swim tracks,” the researchers said.
“This unprecedented abundance suggests that this was a heavily trafficked area, and the parallel orientation of some of the tracks may indicate groups of dinosaurs traveling together.”
“Many more tracks remain to be explored on this and other routes in Bolivia,” they added.
“This site is a stunning window into the past of this area. Not only how many dinosaurs moved through this area, but also what they did as they passed through it.”
“Working on this site is amazing because everywhere you look, the ground is covered in dinosaur footprints.”
teams conclusions appear online in a magazine PLOS ONE.
_____
A. Hoping etc.. 2025. Morphotypes, preservation and taphonomy of dinosaur tracks, tail tracks and swim tracks at the largest track site in the world: Carreras Pampa (Upper Cretaceous), Torotoro National Park, Bolivia. PLOS One 20 (12): e0335973; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0335973
