The Carreras Pampas archaeological site within Bolivia’s Toro Toro National Park has documented 1,321 tracks and 289 isolated footprints, totaling 16,600 theropod dinosaur footprints. Additionally, 280 swim tracks have been identified, amounting to 1,378 swim tracks in total. Some of the tracks include tail traces.
Dinosaur footprints at the Carreras Pampas Stadium in Bolivia’s Toro Toro National Park. Image credit: Esperante et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0335973.
Bolivia boasts one of the most comprehensive and diverse records of dinosaur footprints globally, covering the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods.
Despite the abundance of track sites, there has been limited scientific research published.
A recent study led by paleontologist Raul Esperante from the Institute of Geosciences, along with his colleagues, has documented an extraordinary variety of dinosaur footprints at the Carreras Pampas site in Toro Toro National Park.
In nine different study areas, the research team uncovered 16,600 footprints left by three-toed theropod dinosaurs from the late Cretaceous.
These footprints vary in size from small (less than 10 cm) to large (over 30 cm) and capture a range of dinosaur behaviors, including running, swimming, tail dragging, and abrupt turns.
“The waist height of most (80%) of the trackmakers was between 65 cm and 1.15 meters, with a significant portion measuring between 75 cm and 1.05 meters,” stated the paleontologist.
“Interestingly, very few trackmakers exceeded 1.25 meters in height.”
The majority of these footprints are oriented approximately northwest to southeast, and the sediments retain ripple marks, indicating that these dinosaurs traversed ancient shorelines.
“The Carreras Pampas track set a new world record for the number of individual dinosaur footprints, continuous tracks, tail marks, and swimming marks,” the researchers noted.
“This exceptional frequency suggests it was a heavily trafficked area, and the parallel alignment of some footprints may imply groups of dinosaurs traveled together.”
“Numerous more footprints at this site and other locations in Bolivia remain to be studied,” they added.
“This site offers a remarkable glimpse into the region’s past. It reveals not only how many dinosaurs inhabited the area but also their behaviors during migration.”
“It’s truly incredible to work here, as the ground is covered with dinosaur footprints wherever you look.”
The team’s findings were published in the online journal PLoS ONE.
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R. Esperante et al. 2025. Morphology, preservation, and taphonomy of dinosaur footprints, tail prints, and swim tracks in the world’s largest athletic arena: Carreras Pampas, Toro Toro National Park, Bolivia (Upper Cretaceous). PLoS One 20 (12): e0335973; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0335973
Source: www.sci.news
