四歲的孩子發(fā)現(xiàn)了兩億兩千萬年前保存完好的恐龍腳印

四歲的孩子發(fā)現(xiàn)了兩億兩千萬年前保存完好的恐龍腳印

Beachcombers and fossil hunters will be all too aware of the sometimes arduous process of getting your eye in when searching for fossilized sharks’ teeth or the witness marks of an ammonite. It seems for Lily Wilder, four years old, from Barry, South Wales, the skill comes easily. The young paleontologist was the first to spot a 220-million-year-old dinosaur footprint while on a walk in January. The find represents a very important specimen academically speaking, as it was made at an early point in the evolution of dinosaurs when the different groups were first diversifying.

海灘上的人和化石搜尋者都很清楚，在尋找鯊魚的牙齒化石或鸚鵡螺的痕跡時，眼睛要看進去，這有時是一個非常艱難的過程。對于來自南威爾士巴里的四歲女孩莉莉·懷爾德來說，這個技能來得很容易。這位年輕的古生物學(xué)家在一月份的一次散步中第一個發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個2.2億年前的恐龍腳印。從學(xué)術(shù)上講，這一發(fā)現(xiàn)代表了一個非常重要的標本，因為它是在恐龍進化的早期發(fā)現(xiàn)的，當時不同的類群剛剛開始多樣化。

The footprint is remarkably well preserved, and it’s hoped it may reveal insights that could help scientists to build a clearer picture as to how dinosaurs walked. It was found embedded in a loose block of fossilized desert mud near the sea at Bendricks Bay, an established hotspot for dinosaur and ancient crocodilian footprints.

這個腳印保存得非常完好，人們希望它能揭示一些信息，幫助科學(xué)家們建立一幅恐龍如何行走的更清晰的畫面。它是在Bendricks灣附近的一塊沙漠泥化石中被發(fā)現(xiàn)的，那里是恐龍和古代鱷魚腳印的固定聚集地。

Suspecting the novel find was a new addition to the region’s famous footprints, Wilder and her family reached out to curator Cindy Howells from Amgueddfa Cymru, the National Museum of Wales Palaeontology department. No stranger to the Bay’s footprints, Howells described the Wilder’s find as the best specimen ever found in the area. The footprint is clear enough to show individual pads and even claw impressions, which could reveal new information about the early morphology of dinosaur feet,

懷爾德和她的家人懷疑這個新奇的發(fā)現(xiàn)是該地區(qū)著名腳印的新發(fā)現(xiàn)，于是他們聯(lián)系了威爾士國家博物館古生物學(xué)系A(chǔ)mgueddfa Cymru的館長辛迪·豪威爾斯。豪威爾斯對海灣的腳印并不陌生，他說野生動物的發(fā)現(xiàn)是該地區(qū)發(fā)現(xiàn)的最好的標本。這個腳印已經(jīng)足夠清晰，可以顯示出單獨的腳掌甚至爪印，這可能會揭示恐龍腳早期形態(tài)的新信息。

Rachael Funnell

It’s not possible to determine what kind of dinosaur left the print, but the specimen’s shape places it within a group of prints known as Grallator: a common type of small, three-toed prints that are thought to have been left by a range of bipedal theropod dinosaurs. At 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) long, it’s estimated the creature that made the print was around 75 centimeters (29.5 inches) tall and 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) long. Such dinosaurs most likely walked on their two hind feet, a modest predator hunting small animals and insects.

我們無法確定是哪種恐龍留下了腳印，但從樣本的形狀來看，它屬于一組被稱為擦腳龍的腳印:一種常見的小型三趾腳印，被認為是一系列兩足獸腳類恐龍留下的。據(jù)估計，這只恐龍身長10厘米(3.9英寸)，高約75厘米(29.5英寸)，長2.5米(8.2英尺)。這種恐龍很可能是用兩只后腳走路的，是一種捕食小型動物和昆蟲的中度食肉動物。

Natural Resources Wales made a special request to be permitted to remove the footprint for analysis, as the beach where it was found is legally protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. After permission was granted, the fossil was extracted to be delivered to National Museum Cardiff, where it will be studied and protected.

威爾士自然資源管理局提出了一項特殊要求，要求允許移除腳印進行分析，因為發(fā)現(xiàn)腳印的海灘是受法律保護的具有特殊科學(xué)價值的地點。在獲得許可后，這塊化石被提取出來，送往加的夫國家博物館，在那里它將被研究和保護。

“This fossilised dinosaur footprint from 220 million years ago is one of the best-preserved examples from anywhere in the UK and will really aid palaeontologists to get a better idea about how these early dinosaurs walked,” said Howells in a press release. “During the Covid pandemic scientists from Amgueddfa Cymru have been highlighting the importance of nature on people’s doorstep and this is a perfect example of this. Obviously, we don’t all have dinosaur footprints on our doorstep but there is wealth of nature local to you if you take the time to really look close enough.”

Howells在新聞發(fā)布會上說:“這個2.2億年前的恐龍足跡化石是英國保存最完好的化石之一，它將真正幫助古生物學(xué)家更好地了解這些早期恐龍是如何行走的。”“在新冠肺炎大流行期間，來自Amgueddfa Cymru的科學(xué)家一直在強調(diào)自然對人們家門口的重要性，這是一個很好的例子。顯然，并不是每個人的家門口都有恐龍的腳印，但如果你花時間仔細觀察，就會發(fā)現(xiàn)附近有豐富的自然資源。”