Thousands of dinosaur tracks dating back 210 million years have been found in a national park in northern Italy.
The tracks, some up to 40 cm (15 in) in diameter, are arranged in parallel rows, and many show clear toe and claw marks.
It is believed that dinosaurs were prosauropods – herbivores with a long neck, small head and sharp claws.
“I never would have thought that I would come across such an impressive discovery in the region where I live,” said Milan-based paleontologist Cristiano Dal Sasso.
Illustration by Fabio Manucci, architect. PaleoStelvioLast September, a photographer spotted footprints hundreds of meters long on a vertical mountain wall in the Stelvio National Park, northeast of Milan.
During the Triassic period – between approximately 250 and 201 million years ago – the wall was a tidal flat that later became part of the Alpine chain.
“This place was full of dinosaurs; it is a huge scientific treasure,” Mr. Dal Sasso said.
The herds moved harmoniously, he added, “and there are also traces of more complex behavior, such as groups of animals gathering in a circle, perhaps for protection.”
Prosauropods, which could be up to 10 m (33 ft) long, walked on two legs, but in some cases handprints were found in front of the tracks, indicating that they probably stopped and placed their forelimbs on the ground.
Elio Della Ferrera, architect. PaleoStelvioElio Della Ferrera, the photographer who discovered the site, said he hoped the discovery would “provoke reflection in all of us, highlighting how little we know about the places we live in: our home, our planet.”
According to a press release from the Italian Ministry of Culture, the area is remote and inaccessible by road, so drones and remote sensing technology will be used instead.
The Stelvio National Park is located in the Fraele Valley on Italy's border with Switzerland, close to where next year's Winter Olympics will take place.
“It is as if history itself wanted to pay tribute to the world’s greatest sporting event, uniting past and present in a symbolic passing of the baton between nature and sport,” the Italian Ministry of Culture said.
