Archaeologists revealed details related to the first dinosaur tracks in Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada. They were not just one footprint but a collection made by a multispecies herd, revealing that different species interacted to protect themselves.
In a new study published in the journal PLOS One, researchers noted the first evidence of mixed-species herding behavior in dinosaurs, similar to how wildebeests and zebras travel together on the African plains.
But the unprecedented find came along with much more than a multi-species herd: a reason why they might have huddled together in the first place.
Researchers discovered the tracks of two large tyrannosaurs walking side-by-side. Could they have found a clear snapshot of a dinosaur hunt and protection strategy?
Dinosaurs banded together
An international team of researchers excavated 312.15 square feet of a new tracksite at the Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada.
As a UNESCO World Heritage site, at least 44 species across 10 dinosaur families have been found at the famous dinosaur park, according to The Natural History Museum.
Known for its abundant fossils, the site famously lacks dinosaur footprints. That turns out not to be true.
A remarkable picture began to develop: 13 ceratopsian (horned dinosaur) tracks from at least five animals walking side by side, with a “probable ankylosaurid (armoured dinosaur) walking in the midst of the others.” Even the footprint of a small meat-eating dinosaur was discovered.
“Ceratopsians have long been suspected to have lived in herds due to the existence of bone beds which preserve multiple individuals of the same species together. However, these bone beds only tell us for certain that these animals died together or that the bodies accumulated after death,” Jack Lovegrove, a paleontologist at the Natural Museum, stated.
“The preserved trackways of several ceratopsians walking together in a group are rare evidence for these animals living together.”
Was it a single-event though?
Puzzled at first, upon closer inspection, Dr. Phil Bell, a lead researcher on the project, stated in a press release that the tyrannosaur tracks clarified what they were looking at.
“I’ve collected dinosaur bones in Dinosaur Provincial Park for nearly 20 years, but I’d never given footprints much thought. This rim of rock had the look of mud squelched out between your toes, and I was immediately intrigued,” Bell continued.
“The tyrannosaur tracks give the sense that they were really eyeing up the herd, which is a pretty chilling thought, but we don’t know for certain whether they actually crossed paths.”
However, whether or not the tracks indicate a single event brought them together has yet to be confirmed. “While it’s tempting to imagine these tracks as representing a single event where two tyrannosaurs are stalking the mixed herd of herbivores, this may not be entirely accurate,” said Lovegrove.
Much to uncover in dinosaur palaeontology
In a press release, Dr Brian Pickles, University of Reading, described his experience of walking in the footsteps of dinosaurs 76 million years after they laid them down, “incredibly exciting.”
“Using the new search images for these footprints, we have been able to discover several more tracksites within the varied terrain of the Park, which I am sure will tell us even more about how these fascinating creatures interacted with each other and behaved in their natural environment.”
Dr Caleb Brown, Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, concluded in a press release:
“This discovery shows just how much there is still to uncover in dinosaur palaeontology. Dinosaur Park is one of the best understood dinosaur assemblages globally, with more than a century of intense collection and study, but it is only now that we are getting a sense for its full potential for dinosaur trackways.”
Read the study in PLOS One.