113-million year old Dinosaur footprints found in dried up river

113-million year old Dinosaur footprints found in dried up river

Texas: Severe drought has revealed 113-million year old footprints of dinosaurs. The footprints appeared in the soil when a river in Texas that flows through Dinosaur Valley State Park dried up.

Photos posted on Facebook show three-toed footprints leading down a dry tree-lined riverbed in the southern US state.

Stephanie Salinas Garcia of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said dry weather made the tracks visible.

"Due to the excessive drought conditions this past summer, the river dried up completely in most locations, allowing for more tracks to be uncovered here in the park," she said.

Most of the recently revealed tracks were made by Acrocanthosaurus, which weighed nearly seven tons as an adult and stood 4.5 metres tall.

Another dinosaur, Sauroposeidon, also left tracks in the park. It measured more than 18 metres tall and weighed 44 tons in adulthood.

The state park — located in an inland area south-west of the city of Dallas — was once on the edge of an ancient ocean, and dinosaurs left footprints in the mud, its website says.

While drought revealed the tracks, rain is in the forecast, meaning they will likely be covered once more.

"While they will soon be buried again by the rain and the river, Dinosaur Valley State Park will continue to protect these 113 million-year-old tracks not only for present, but future generations," Ms Garcia said.

-ABC

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