And they left messages in the sand for researchers to find

Aug 11, 2015 17:10 GMT  ·  By

About 142 million years ago, two dinosaurs went for a walk on a beach in present-day Germany. The ancient creatures, most likely carnivorous beasts of the species Megalosauripus, left messages in the sand to bear witness to their escapade. 

Thus, between the years 2009 and 2011, University of Southern Denmark researcher Pernille Venø Troelsen and colleagues excavated around 50 footprints that the two predators left behind when they set out to explore the beach in Germany's Münchehagen region.

The dinosaurs were in no hurry, took their time enjoying the view

Having analyzed these dinosaur tracks discovered in Münchehagen, Germany, biologist Pernille Venø Troelsen concluded that, when they visited the beach many millennia ago, the creatures were in no hurry. Rather, they took their time enjoying the view.

Of the two dinosaurs, the smaller one, measuring about 1.1 meters (3.6 feet) at hip height, was moving at a speed of approximately 6.3 kilometers per hour (3.9 miles per hour).

The other, measuring about 1.6 meters (5.2 feet) at hip height, was trotting at 9.7 kilometers per hour (6 miles per hour), Pernille Venø Troelsen says. The smaller one had some trouble keeping up with its companion, but other than this, the walk was quite enjoyable.

“The little one has occasionally crossed its legs on its way. Perhaps it lost its balance because it was slippery or the wind was strong, perhaps it found something to eat, or maybe it wanted to stick close to the big one,” the researcher explains.

Previous studies have shown that, when chasing prey or otherwise rushing to get someplace, Megalosauripus could run at about 40 kilometers per hour (nearly 25 miles per hour). So, yes, these two specimens were quite at their leisure when they crossed the beach.

It could be that the dinosaurs were a family or at least close friends

Judging by their behavior as evidenced by the footprints they left in the wet sand, University of Southern Denmark biologist Pernille Venø Troelsen suspects that the pair were either a mother and its offspring or at least good buddies, possibly siblings.

Whatever the bonds that tied them, their walk on the beach is proof that, rather than take pleasure in solitude, many dinosaur species were actually social animals that hunted and maybe even raised their young together.

Then again, it could be that the two distinct sets of footprints were created by animals that crossed the beach years one after the other, in which case the tracks don't really reveal anything about the social life of Megalosauripus.

False color photo of one of the Megalosauripus footprints
False color photo of one of the Megalosauripus footprints

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Reconstruction of a Megalosauripus
False color photo of one of the Megalosauripus footprints
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