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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
Chengdu, December 8 (Xinhua) — Paleontologists have discovered more than 20 dinosaur and other vertebrate footprints on a rock face in southwest China's Sichuan Province. They say the discovery sheds new light on the early evolution of dinosaurs around 200 million years ago.
The tracks were discovered in the city of Dujiangyan by a nature enthusiast last month, and their authenticity was later confirmed by a research team led by Xing Lida, an associate professor at the China University of Geosciences (Beijing). This is the first time dinosaur tracks have been discovered in Dujiangyan.
Xing Lida said the prints include theropod tracks of varying sizes left by carnivorous dinosaurs, as well as human-hand-like tracks attributed to early archosaur reptiles.
"What makes this discovery particularly valuable is that at least four layers of the fossils contain preserved tracks. This suggests that dinosaurs lived here for a long time," explained Xing Lida.
Researchers also found fossilized tree pieces near these footprints, including fallen logs and upright stumps, which provided new information about the local ecosystem more than 200 million years ago.
Jiang Shan, a researcher at the Zigong Dinosaur Museum in Sichuan Province, said the discovered tracks could help scientists better understand the early evolutionary history of dinosaurs in China. -0-
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