A Chinese-Australian team of paleontologists has discovered 12 two-toed footprints in Fujian Province, located in the southeastern part of the country. These footprints were categorized into two morphological groups based on their size and shape. The shorter prints measured about 11 centimeters in length and belonged to the previously known genus Velociraptorichnus. In contrast, the larger footprints, measuring around 36 centimeters, were attributed to a previously undescribed species named Fujianipus yingliangi, which is part of the Troodontidae family. This family thrived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The scientists were particularly surprised by the footprints from this group. Until recently, researchers believed that the largest troodontids, known as troodonts, reached lengths of only 2.5 meters. (It’s worth noting that the smallest members of this family, the anchiornithids, weighed just 100 grams.) Based on the size of the discovered prints, troodontids could have grown up to 5 meters long, with legs measuring 1.8 meters.
“When people think of predatory dinosaurs, they likely picture those from the movie ‘Jurassic Park’—muscular, aggressive hunters the size of a human,” said paleontologist Anthony Romilio from the University of Queensland. “But these footprints were left by a much more delicate and intelligent member of the Troodontidae family, which emerged in the Late Jurassic period, around 95 million years ago,” he noted. According to him, this predator significantly exceeded the size of the troodontids depicted in Spielberg’s famous film. It’s even frightening to imagine how this massive creature would charge at you at full speed.
The team compared the footprints with those of other known two-toed dinosaurs from Asia, North and South America, as well as Europe. Paleontologists found that this type of footprint differs in shape and size, making it completely unique. “The concept of large troodontids has only recently emerged in the paleontological community,” Romilio reported. “Bones found in Alaska suggest a trend toward gigantism near the ancient Arctic Circle, an area with potentially less species competition due to prolonged periods of winter darkness,” he added. However, the study’s findings indicate that these giant predators migrated much further south and were quite dispersed.
Additionally, the paleontologist shared that some members of this research team also worked on the smallest dinosaur footprints in the world, discovered in South Korea. These footprints measure just one centimeter in length, according to Sci.News. “All of this demonstrates the incredible range of sizes among predatory dinosaurs, highlighting their adaptive capabilities and ecological diversity,” concluded Romilio. The findings of this study were published in the journal iScience.