Little girl discovers 200 million-year-old dinosaur footprints during beach walk

Along the coast of South Wales, renowned as a “prehistoric hotspot,” a mother and daughter made an extraordinary discovery: Camelotian footprints dating back a staggering 200 million years, confirming the presence of dinosaurs in Wales.

The five footprints, each measuring an impressive 75cm (30in) apart, make humans look more like ants, and according to a paleontology expert at the National Museum Wales, it belonged to a “type of dinosaur called a sauropodomorpha” due to their immense size.

“It’s quite a significant find—the buzz you get when someone contacts us with a definite dinosaur find, it’s amazing,” Cindy Howells, the dinosaur expert from the region, told BBC . She continued that, up until now, paleontologists didn’t think Wales had been heavily populated by dinosaurs because “we had so few dinosaur finds.” However, in recent years, that picture has changed.

“Now we’re getting a footprint or bone find every five to six years and we now know we have a continuous sequence of dinosaurs living in Wales over 15 million years or so – it’s amazing,” Howells remarked.

The land before time comes up to the surface

This awe-inspiring discovery unfolded when 10-year-old Tegan and her mother, Claire, innocently stumbled upon gigantic footprints on a beach. They promptly sent pictures to the museum, which responded immediately. The tracks appeared to belong to the Camelotia dinosaur, a member of the sauropod family distinguished by their long necks, tails, large bodies, and small heads.

However, these gentle giants remain shrouded in mystery amongst the ancient beasts of the prehistoric past. Due to the scarcity of discovered specimens, their depictions are challenging to create, as experts lack a precise understanding of their appearance.

Nevertheless, Howells speculates that this “reasonably large herbivorous dinosaur” left these prints, as “bones of a similar dinosaur were found on the other side of Bristol Channel.” So, the picture of these creatures becomes clearer as other findings of this particular dinosaur in the area have been made.

“A camelotia would have stood about 3m (10ft) tall, 4-5m (13-16ft) long and is an early sauropodomorph with a relatively long neck, long tail and walked on two legs but could walk on all four when grazing for food,” she described.

Though the footprints need to be scientifically verified, by the markings, Howells can extend a qualified prediction. “If they were random holes, we’d be wary but because we have a left foot, a right foot and then a left and another right… there’s a consistent distance between them,” she highlighted.

This discovery marks a significant moment both in paleontology research and in dinosaur history.

Making connections through time

Howells explained to BBC that “Tegan’s Footprints,” the little girl having been immortalized already, will probably match up with the first dinosaur prints ever found in Wales in 1879. Subsequently, more bones and prints surfaced in the region, which became known as a “prehistoric hotspot.”

With the 2014 excavation of a complete skeleton of a 201-million-year-old dracoraptor from the same beach where Tegan found the herbivore’s prints, the distant past, and its inhabitants have been brought to new life .

While Wales may have once been perceived as devoid of any trace of the captivating dinosaurs that continue to fascinate us, these discoveries are reshaping that understanding entirely.

Currently, the South Wales group of the Geologists’ Association, of which Howells serves as vice-president, believes it could be “the best site in Britain for dinosaur tracks, external of the Triassic period.”

“It’s hard to comprehend you’re walking on the same beach as some massive prehistoric animal did hundreds of millions of years ago,” Tegan concluded .