Overview
- An international team led by Raúl Esperante reports 16,600 theropod footprints at Carreras Pampa in Bolivia, formally published in PLOS ONE.
- Researchers say the Bolivian count surpasses the famed Cal Orck’o site and includes more than 1,300 swim traces plus frequent tail‑drag marks.
- Digital mapping with drones, 3D models and depth scanners under controlled lighting captured locomotion details such as directionality, speed changes and possible group movement.
- Italian experts from Milan’s Natural History Museum estimate up to about 20,000 Triassic‑age prints along roughly 5 km in Stelvio National Park, first spotted in September by photographer Elio Della Ferrera.
- The Italian site sits on a steep, north‑facing rock wall 600 meters above the nearest road near Bormio, is considered inaccessible in winter, and has no public access plans despite officials lauding the find.