Paleontologists in China have unearthed the world’s largest tracks ever attributed to a deinonychosaur, a group of theropod dinosaurs that includes velociraptors and the bird-like troodontids. The discovery, made at the Longxiang tracksite in Fujian Province, sheds light on the diversity and size of these feathered predators during the Late Cretaceous period.
Over the years, researchers from China University of Geosciences and the Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum have identified at least eight distinct types of dinosaur tracks at Longxiang. Among these were twelve two-toed tracks belonging to deinonychosaurs, further classified into two distinct morphologies.
However, five particularly large tracks, measuring an impressive 36.4 centimeters long and 16.9 centimeters wide on average, stood out from the rest. Based on the size and proportions of these fossilized footprints, scientists were able to establish a completely new ichnotaxon (a name for a fossil footprint): Fujianipus yingliangi.
![Deinonychosaur Tracks in China](https://i0.wp.com/keymantermlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/dino.png?resize=666%2C511&ssl=1)
“These are, without a doubt, the biggest deinonychosaur tracks ever discovered,” said Xing Lida, an associate professor at China University of Geosciences. “Based on the footprint size, we estimate Fujianipus to have been a formidable creature, reaching at least 5 meters in length and standing nearly 2 meters tall at the hip.”
This discovery is significant for several reasons. First, it expands our understanding of the size range achieved by deinonychosaurs.Fujianipus suggests that gigantism may have evolved independently multiple times within this dinosaur lineage, despite many being known for their smaller stature.
Second, the sheer size of these tracks hints at a potentially more robust and ecologically diverse group of Late Cretaceous raptors in China than previously thought. This finding aligns well with the exceptional preservation and vast area of the Longxiang tracksite, making it the most significant Late Cretaceous dinosaur tracksite discovered in China so far, according to Niu Kecheng, curator of the Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum.
Finally, the discovery of Fujianipus adds another piece to the puzzle of dinosaur-to-bird evolution. Deinonychosaurs were closely related to birds, and many were likely covered in feathers. Studying these massive tracks alongside skeletal remains of other feathered dinosaurs from China can provide valuable insights into the physical capabilities and ecological roles of these fascinating creatures in their ancient ecosystems.
Researchers recently published the details of this discovery in the prestigious scientific journal iScience.
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