Longest dinosaur trackway discovered in Oxfordshire quarry with 200 footprints from 166 million years ago
Researchers have identified a 200-footprint dinosaur trackway at Dewars Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire as the longest continuous sauropod trackway ever discovered, dating back 166 million years. The tracks show evidence of multiple sauropods of different sizes and possibly a Megalosaurus predator, preserved in what was once a tropical lagoon environment with shallow inland seas and islands. The discovery provides rare insight into dinosaur behavior and herd dynamics from the Middle Jurassic period.
A 200-footprint dinosaur trackway discovered at Dewars Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire has been confirmed by Oxford University researchers as the longest exposed continuous sauropod trackway in the world. The tracks were made 166 million years ago and include four separate trackways of different-sized sauropods, possibly representing a family herd of varying ages or multiple sauropod species. The site also reveals evidence of a Megalosaurus predator and shows an unusual footprint where a sauropod appears to have paused and leaned on one leg, potentially while being tracked by the predator. The area during the Middle Jurassic period was a tropical environment with shallow inland seas dotted with islands similar to the Bahamas, where these dinosaurs lived. Scientists are working with the quarry operators and Natural England to preserve the site, and believe additional footprints may still be discovered at the location.
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Dinosaur highway 'longest of its kind in the world'
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