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In the French village of Plagne, in the Jura Mountains, 200 kilometers
east of Lyon, there is a set of huge footprints made 150 million years
ago. The footprints belonged to a sauropod, the largest class of
dinosaurs, that had very long necks, which helped them reach the foliage
on top of tall trees, long tails and four thick, pillar-like legs. An
adult sauropod easily weighed 100 tons, although this particular
individual probably weighed about 35 tons.
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Back then, this region was a warm and shallow sea, dotted with small
islands. When the sea got low, all kinds of dinosaurs waded through the
marsh as they hopped from island to the next in search of food. One
could almost imagine this large sauropod walking quietly on the beach
leaving thick footprints in the mud, that got subsequently covered by
sediments. Tectonic upheaval raised the landmass and exposed the
footprints for humans to discover.
Dinosaur trackways have been discovered in many parts around the world.
What makes this particular tracks interesting is they are the longest
tracks to be discovered belonging to the largest class of dinosaurs. The
tracks run for a length of 155 meters and has 110 individual footprints.
Analysis of these tracks suggest that the prints were left by an animal
at least 35 meters long and weighing more than 35 tons, that traveled
about 4 kilometers per hour with an average stride of 2.8 meters. What’s
more— this sauropod was a previously unknown species that has now been
named Brontopodus plagnensis, which translates as “thunderfoot of Plagne”.
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