Dinosaur Freeway: 16,600 Tracks Found in Bolivia

An extensive fossil track site, dubbed a "dinosaur freeway," has been unearthed in Bolivia's Torotoro National Park, revealing over 16,600 theropod tracks. These ancient imprints, dating from 101 to 66 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period, represent the largest number of tracks ever found at a single trackway site. The findings offer a unique window into the daily lives and movements of these bipedal, meat-eating dinosaurs.

The vast collection of footprints, covering approximately 80,570 square feet, showcases various dinosaur gaits, including walking, sprinting, and even swimming in shallow waters. The presence of tail drag marks and varying track sizes suggests dinosaurs ranged significantly in size, from 26 to over 49 inches in hip height. This site provides unparalleled data on dinosaur behavior and paleoecology, bringing ancient environments to life in ways fossil bones alone cannot.

Researchers believe this area may have been a crucial thoroughfare for theropods, potentially connecting to a larger dinosaur highway spanning across South America. Unlike fossil skeletons, these tracks preserve direct evidence of how dinosaurs moved, revealing their speed, direction, and posture. The Carreras Pampas site offers a remarkable snapshot of Cretaceous life, highlighting a dynamic ecosystem where dinosaurs and birds once coexisted.