China brothers shocked that rocks used as stepping stones are 190-million-year-old dinosaur fossils

Two brothers in southwestern China have been shocked to find that rocks they used as simple stepping stones for decades are 190-million-year-old dinosaur footprint fossils.

On November 29, researchers completed a study into dinosaur tracks found decades ago in Wuli village, Sichuan province.

The mainland media then revealed that the rocks have a fascinating backstory.

According to Guangming Daily, while quarrying stone in 1998, the Ding brothers found rocks with “chicken claw prints” and used them as stepping stones.

In 2017, after local interest in dinosaurs grew, the daughter of one of the Ding brothers posted photographs of the flat rocks online, seeking information about their origins.

The photographs revealed sharp claw marks, round imprints and some linear traces which caught the museum’s attention.

A month later, researchers verified that the rocks were dinosaur footprint fossils.

With the Ding family’s approval, the specimens were moved to the museum for analysis.

Recently, Chinese scientists published their findings on the Wuli village fossils in the Journal of Palaeogeography.

The study focused on eight stone slabs containing 413 footprints dating back to the Early Jurassic period, around 180 million to 190 million years ago.

Scientists said they mostly belonged to Grallators and Eubrontes.

They suggest these dinosaurs used a “ground-running” gait similar to modern birds, moving at speeds of 5.8 to 8.6 km an hour.