JURASSIC MARK!
Giant dino print is found on a beach
ARCHAEOLOGIST Marie Woods was looking for shellfish for dinner when she found something rather bigger than she bargained for – a dinosaur footprint.
The fossil was discovered on a beach in Yorkshire, northern England. Ms Woods said: ‘I didn’t collect much after seeing it. It’s in a fragile state and sits close to the water level, meaning it could be lost to the sea.’
She contacted specialists, including palaeontologist Dr Dean Lomax. He believes the footprint could belong to the flightless, meat-eating Megalosaurus, which lived between 175million and 164million years ago. It was about 20ft tall and 1,500lb in weight. The fossil had actually been spotted by collector Rob Taylor last November but it wasn’t fully exposed and no-one realised its importance.
Dr Lomax said: ‘The shape and three-toed track, along with the impression of the claws, are spot-on for a large theropod that probably had a hip height of about 2.4 metres and possible body length approaching eight to nine metres – so a real Jurassic giant.’ If the fossil can be recovered from the location, which is being kept secret, it will be displayed at Rotunda Museum in Scarborough. But photos are being taken just in case it is washed away forever.
‘Impression of the claws’