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Footprint field in Xuanhua, in China’s Hebei province, gathers more than 5,000 tracks and reveals a theropod walking at just 1 kilometer per hour, a fact that helps researchers observe behaviors preserved for more than 100 million years.
More than 5,000 preserved footprints in Xuanhua reveal a carnivorous dinosaur walking at about 1 kilometer per hour, in a 30,000 square meter track field studied in Hebei province.
Dinosaur at an unusual pace in the fossil record
The finding was documented in Zhangjiakou, where researchers confirmed one of the largest dinosaur footprint fields in China. The area gathers tracks preserved in layers of the Tuchengzi Formation, dated between about 154 and 134 million years ago.
The site broadens the understanding of the region’s ancient landscape because it records movements left in the ground by different animals. Site I already gathered marks of sauropods and theropods. Later, Sites II and III were identified, near the original area.
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Footprints show short steps and slow movement
The analysis included 27 intact three-toed footprints, called grallator, with lengths between 10.1 and 26.7 centimeters. A team from China, Brazil, and Australia separated the set into 16 larger prints and 11 smaller ones.
The most unusual data came from Site III. Xing Lida, from the China University of Geosciences in Beijing, and colleagues measured five preserved footprints. The stride lengths ranged between 32 and 46 centimeters.
With these values, the researchers estimated a speed of 0.28 meters per second, equivalent to about 1 kilometer per hour. The record indicates a theropod dinosaur moving very slowly for this type of track.
Behavior preserved in the ground marks
The interpretation does not suggest that the animal was incapable of moving quickly. The hypothesis presented is that it was walking cautiously, perhaps examining the environment or searching for prey.
The case contrasts with estimates of other small dinosaurs from the same region, which could reach 9 to 14 kilometers per hour. The footprints, unlike bones, preserve a specific moment of behavior.
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