Overview
- Researchers documented about 16,600 three‑toed theropod footprints at Carreras Pampas across 1,321 trackways and 289 isolated prints, plus 1,378 swim tracks in 280 swim trackways.
- The site sets multiple records for total prints, continuous trackways, swim traces, and abundant tail marks, with more than 30 trackways preserving tail drags reported by the authors.
- Trackways trend mostly northwest–southeast alongside ripple‑marked sediment, indicating repeated movement along a shoreline and suggesting possible group travel in parallel paths.
- Exceptional preservation on a single, ~7,485 m² carbonate‑rich surface captured walking, running, sharp turns, swimming and tail contact within a short time window late in the Cretaceous.
- The study highlights Bolivia’s rich yet underpublished footprint record, notes the site was first flagged by park rangers in 2015, and stresses that substantial areas remain to be mapped and protected.