Paleontologists conducted an analysis of the path taken by an exceptionally long sauropod at the West Gold Hill Dinosaur Tracking Station in Colorado, USA. Their findings suggest that the massive dinosaurs responsible for it might have exhibited a limp.
Aerial view of the West Gold Hill dinosaur track site in Colorado, USA. Image credit: USDA Forest Service.
Paleontologist Anthony Romilio from the University of Queensland and his team examined over 130 footprints along a 95.5-meter trail that dates back 150 million years.
“This is a remnant from the late Jurassic period, a time when long-necked dinosaurs like diplodocus and camarasaurus thrived across North America,” stated Dr. Romilio.
“This track is particularly special because it forms a complete loop.”
“Although the reason for the dinosaur’s turnaround remains unclear, this trajectory provides a rare chance to analyze how the substantial sauropod executed a sharp turn before returning to its original direction.”
“The scale of the West Gold Hill Dinosaur Track necessitated a novel approach,” remarked Paul Murphy, a paleontologist from the San Diego Museum of Natural History.
“Given the size of the tracks, capturing these footprints from the ground proved to be quite challenging.”
“We utilized a drone to photograph the entire track in high resolution.”
“These images can now be leveraged to create detailed 3D models that can be digitally examined in the lab with millimeter-level accuracy.”
The virtual model reconstructed the sauropod’s movement throughout the entire path.
“It became evident right away that this animal started moving northeast, looped around, and ultimately ended up facing the same direction,” Dr. Romilio explained.
“Within that circular path, we discovered subtle yet consistent indications of its behavior.”
“A notable observation was the variance in width between the left and right footprints, which changed from very narrow to distinctly wide.”
“This transition from narrow to wide footprints suggests that the width may naturally fluctuate as dinosaurs walked. This implies that short segments of seemingly uniform width could misrepresent their typical walking style.”
“We also noted a small but ongoing difference in stride length of roughly 10 cm (4 inches) between the left and right sides.”
“It’s challenging to determine if this signifies a limp or merely a preference for one side.”
“Many extensive dinosaur trails worldwide could benefit from this method to uncover previously hidden behavioral insights.”
The team’s study was published in the journal Geography.
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Anthony Romilio et al. 2025. Track by track: West Gold Hill Dinosaur Tracking Site (Upper Jurassic, Bluff Sandstone, Colorado) reveals sauropod rotation and lateralized gait. Geography 5(4):67;doi: 10.3390/geomatics5040067
Source: www.sci.news
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