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Bolivia Tracksite Sets Record With 16,600 Theropod Footprints

The first full survey maps a dense Cretaceous shoreline that preserves unprecedented detail on theropod movement.

Overview

  • Researchers mapped 7,485 square meters at Carreras Pampas in Torotoro National Park and documented 16,600 theropod footprints from the Late Cretaceous.
  • More than 1,300 additional traces capture swimming in shallow water, identified by deeper impressions from the middle toe.
  • Tracks trend mostly north-northwest or southeast, supporting a high-traffic shoreline route that researchers suggest could tie into a broader regional corridor.
  • The surface preserves varied behaviors and sizes, including walking, sprinting, tail-drag marks, hip heights from about 65 to over 125 centimeters, and several hundred bird tracks.
  • The tally surpasses Bolivia’s Cal Orck’o site (~14,000 prints) and, as the first detailed survey at Carreras Pampas, opens new comparative studies and conservation work.