15m long "desert monster" traces revealed in Mongolia

(NLDO) - A terrifying fossil in the Gobi desert has revealed a giant beast that existed 70 million years ago.

According to Sci-News, the new discovery of the Japanese-Mongolian paleontological research team is 13 monster footprints in the western Gobi Desert. The largest footprint has a diameter of up to 92 cm, showing that the creature that owned it must be extremely large.

Although not as "magnificent" as dinosaur bones, fossil footprints are very valuable to scientists . Because they not only reveal about the animal but also show how they lived, moved and interacted with other species in the ancient environment.

A series of fossil footprints were discovered in the Gobi Desert, an area in Mongolia - Photo: OKAYAMA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE

The new discovery in Mongolia is all the more significant because the 13 footprints were connected to an older footprint discovered in 2018 to form a continuous chain.

"They allow analysis of posture, walking style, speed and group behavior, details that cannot be inferred from bone fossils," said Dr. Shinobu Ishigaki, Director of the Dinosaur Research Museum at Okayama University of Science (Japan) - team leader.

Analysis results showed that they belonged to a member of the genus Saurolophus, a group of Hadrosaurid dinosaurs, also known as "duck-billed dinosaurs" or "duck-billed dinosaurs".

Three of the newly discovered footprints in the Gobi are the largest known dinosaur footprints ever found in the world .

They help scientists estimate the beast's enormous size: at least 15 meters long, even larger than a typical T-rex.

Previously, several members of the genus Saurolophus had been found in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation in Canada and the Nemegt Formation in Mongolia. This is one of the few dinosaur genera present on multiple continents.

"Our discovery represents one of the largest bipedal animals ever to have lived in Mongolia, raising hopes of discovering skeletons of similar size," the team said.

The record for the world's largest pressure dragon currently belongs to Shantungosaurus (Shandong Lizard), discovered in Shandong province - China, about 15 m long and weighed about 13 tons when alive.

The footprints of the Mongolian beast suggest it may have been larger than this Shandong Lizard.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/quai-thu-sa-mac-dai-15-m-lo-dau-vet-o-mong-co-196250204111759731.htm