Discovered an 80cm long 'monstrous dragon' footprint in Australia

Fossil footprints more than 150 million years old in Australia reveal a carnivorous dinosaur about the size of a T-rex tyrant.

According to a report published in the journal Biological History on June 12, the footprints appeared at the end of the Jurassic period, dating back from 151 to 165 million years ago. They are 50 to 80cm long, possibly created by an animal-like dinosaur of the genus Longos (Allosaurus) , when giant animals walk through the swamp forest that once occupied most of the landscape in the south. Queensland.

80cm long carnivorous dinosaur footprints in Australia. (Photo: University of Queensland).

Analysis of fossil footprints shows that this monstrosity can be as high as 3m up to the hips and about 10m long including the tail. It was only slightly smaller than the T-rex dinosaur (3.25m high and 12-13m long), but could be the largest predator on the planet at the time, according to the team leader. Anthony Romilio from University of Queensland, Australia.

"Paleontologists have previously known about T-rex tyrannosaurs in North America, Giganotosaurus in South America and Spinosaurus in Africa, but this is the first time a trace of a carnivorous dinosaur. Great found in Australia, " Romilio stressed.

The size of the monstrosity creates a footprint in Australia compared to T-rex. (Photo: University of Queensland).

The footprints have long been discovered in an underground coal mine in the northern city of Toowoomba but have only been analyzed by scientists. They are stored inside the Queensland Museum for 70 years.

The record for the largest dinosaur footprint currently belongs to a herbivorous dinosaur that once lived in northwest Australia with a length of up to 1.75m. Meanwhile, the largest footprint of a carnivorous dinosaur was found in Bolivia in July 2016 with a length of 1.15m.