Dinosaur Trace Fossils & Eggs – Part 1

This month we start a new series discussing dinosaur trace fossils and eggs. Also known as an ichnofossil, a trace fossil is a preserved record that gives indirect evidence of biological activity. Footprints, though not as informative as fossilized skeletons or skin impressions, can still yield valuable insights. Dinosaur tracks from diverse parts of the world show the reptiles initially leaving clear prints. Then the tracks become shallower as the dinos becomes buoyant. Finally, there are just scratch marks recorded in the rock layer. This is consistent with dinosaurs walking, going on tiptoes, and finally swimming. In Queensland, Australia there is a famous trackway called Lark Quarry Dinosaur Trackway. There are thousands of footprints covering an area about the size of a basketball court. This “dinosaur stampede” ground shows all the tracks going in the same direction, as if they were fleeing from some disaster. Many of these footprints have elongated grooves, showing that the dinosaurs were scratching along the bottom on their tippy toes. This would make sense if they were being carried up by rising flood waters. Analysts have examined the stride and determined that the left, right, left right tracks were too distant for the dinosaur to have been walking on land. More likely, they were being carried along by heavy currents, evidence of the Genesis Flood!

Posted on May 1, 2023 by dwoetzel.