Posted by red pill junkie on 08 Feb 2010 at about 16:28.
I suppose if I wanted to determine if the dinosaurs were marching at a 'normal' pace, or running in a panic (from a predator, or a natural event) I would examine the distance between one footprint and the next, and how deep they are —when you run, you leave a different impression on the terrain than when you're having a calm stroll.
—
It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
For the footprints to be preserved, generally a layer of mud or soft earth containing the prints has to be quickly buried in a material that fills those prints without disruption, like more mud or volcanic ash.
A flood or volcanic eruption would be a great reason for lots of different dinosaurs to travel in the same direction and explain the fossilized prints. Unfortunately, the article doesn't really give up details of the type of rock involved.
Comments
22 November 2004
2 days 2 hours
I thought that some species are believed to have lived in herds. Would it not be normal for them to travel between locations as a group?
----
No amount of cursing at the round earth will make it flat.
12 April 2007
4 hours 7 min
I suppose if I wanted to determine if the dinosaurs were marching at a 'normal' pace, or running in a panic (from a predator, or a natural event) I would examine the distance between one footprint and the next, and how deep they are —when you run, you leave a different impression on the terrain than when you're having a calm stroll.
It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
Red Pill Junkie
22 November 2004
2 days 2 hours
yes you would want to look at stride length and heel-versus-toe imprints.
Also it might be interesting to see if any of them stopped occasionally, or if they all just marched/ran without delays.
----
No amount of cursing at the round earth will make it flat.
6 September 2009
3 hours 23 sec
I wonder what the land was like back then, as my first instant "gut-reaction" would be to suggest maybe they were running from a fire of some sort?
1 May 2004
12 hours 37 min
For the footprints to be preserved, generally a layer of mud or soft earth containing the prints has to be quickly buried in a material that fills those prints without disruption, like more mud or volcanic ash.
A flood or volcanic eruption would be a great reason for lots of different dinosaurs to travel in the same direction and explain the fossilized prints. Unfortunately, the article doesn't really give up details of the type of rock involved.