On both sides of the Atlantic Ocean more than 3,700 miles apart, researchers have discovered footprints left by dinosaurs that may have wandered from Africa to South America when the two continents were connected into a supercontinent.
More than 260 footprints, found in Brazil and Cameroon, are believed to be part of Early Cretaceousaccording to a study published Monday by the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.
The tracks were originally created 621 miles above a thin layer of sandstone of silt and clay on the former supercontinent of Gondwanan, which later broke apart to form the South Atlantic Ocean.
The study showed images of footprints with identical shapes, and appear to be of the same age and geological context, according to Southern Methodist University paleontologist and lead author Louis L. Jacobs.
“One of the smallest and The narrowest geological links between Africa and South America “The area in northeastern Brazil was located off the coast of what is now Cameroon along the Gulf of Guinea,” Jacobs said in a press release from Southern Methodist University. “The two continents were connected along this narrow stretch, so animals on either side of this connection could move across it.”
Footprints left by three-toed theropods
The study found that most of the fossilized footprints belong to theropod dinosaurs, which were characterized by their three toes and hollow bones. Some of the other fossils are likely to belong to sauropod dinosaurs or birds.
According to the study, paleontologists calculated the hip height, speed range and body mass of each type of footprint to come to the conclusion that the species were the same.
The study said the location of the footprints found in the Burburma region of Brazil and the Koum Basin of Cameroon allowed researchers to pinpoint where cracks formed in the Earth’s crust when tectonic plates moved.
In addition to the footprints, the researchers also found hemian basins, geological structures that formed when the Earth’s crust separated. Inside the basins, the researchers found river and lake sediments containing fossilized pollen grains dating back 120 million years.
What is Gondwana?
Gondwana is a former supercontinent that broke away from Pangaea about 180 million years ago. It included South America, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica.
About 140 million years ago, Africa and South America began to separate, causing cracks to appear along pre-existing weaknesses, and the South Atlantic Ocean filled the space between the two newly formed continents.
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