A new Australian documentary follows a team of scientists researching a site near Lark Quarry in Queensland where thousands of bipedal dino footprints all appear to be rushing away from a larger predator. The trailer for the documentary (which is only showing in Australia for now) is SO MUCH FUN:
However, Brian Switek questions the premise over at the Smithsonian’s blog, Dinosaur Tracking:
There is no doubt that a huge gaggle of little dinosaurs scurried away over the damp Cretaceous lake shore. What has come into question is the identity of the dinosaur that triggered the stampede. The dramatic predator vs. prey story was based on large, three-toed footprints found at the same site. These were previously attributed to a large theropod dinosaur akin to Allosaurus—the recently-discovered Australovenator seemed to be a good candidate—but a recent reanalysis by paleontologists Anthony Romilio and Steven Salisbury found that the imprints don’t actually match the foot anatomy of big predatory dinosaurs. Instead, the relatively blunt-toed tracks correspond to the feet of a herbivorous, iguanodontian dinosaur, something akin to Australia’s own Muttaburrasaurus.
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I think it was a bunch of space aliens chasing dinos in their UFO.
That or 50 core Teraflop enabled Pandarians.
Only Australia would have a dinosaur named Muttaburrasaurus.
Excuse me, but dinosaur stampedes happen all the time. Scare a flock of ostriches and you’ll see.
@3 As usual, you totally win Dinosaur News, Venomlash!
I have been telling my 5-year old daughter that we are eating dinosaur for Thanksgiving, since turkeys are birds and birds are dinosaurs.
Walter the Farting Dog, in his first public appearance.
@2 You are probably correct, as Muttaburra is the name of a place in central Queensland.