Two fossilised trackways found in Turvo, Santa Catarina (Brazil), indicate the presence of mammals and their close relatives that were larger than previously recorded specimens from the “Botucatu Formation” geological site.
These are the largest mammal-like footprints ever documented in the Lower Cretaceous of Gondwana, the ancient supercontinent of which South America formed part, according to Metrópoles, a partner of TV BRICS.
The study determined that the animals passed through the area, which was part of the Botucatu Desert, a vast expanse of dunes that existed during the age of the dinosaurs.
The footprints show four toes, with short, rounded impressions. The shape of the marks and the arrangement of the tracks suggest an animal that moved on four legs.
The research, however, does not identify the largest mammal of the entire dinosaur era. As skeletal remains are rare in the Botucatu Formation, the footprints help to reconstruct life in the ancient desert. As well as indicating the presence of large animals, the tracks preserve information on how those inhabitants moved across the dunes.
In other BRICS countries and partner nations of the group, discoveries and research have also been carried out on tracks left by various prehistoric animals that inhabited the Earth thousands or millions of years ago.
Researchers in China have identified the first scientifically documented amphibian footprint fossils from the Middle Jurassic period in both China and Asia, a significant breakthrough in the study of ancient vertebrate life in the region, reports Global Times, a partner of TV BRICS; the discovery was made in Beijing and dates back approximately 160 million years, corresponding to the Middle Jurassic Yaopo Formation, and the findings fill a long-standing gap in the fossil record, as until now there had been no evidence of Jurassic amphibians, despite extensive documentation of dinosaurs and other reptiles.
Furthermore, a new species of dromaeosaurid has been described based on fragmentary skull material found at the Podlesny site in the Orenburg region (Russia), discovered in 2024 by palaeontologists Fanil Shaimardanov and Maksim Paperny, according to the website of the Institute of Palaeontology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. A fully dentate premaxilla and a skull fragment comprising the maxilla and a large part of the palate were recovered from the site, enabling the identification of a previously unknown species; the specimen is currently the largest known representative of the genus, with a skull measuring up to 8 centimetres in length.
Meanwhile, palaeontologists in Thailand announced the discovery of a new species of long-necked dinosaur, “Uragasaurus kalasinensis”, which lived approximately 150 million years ago during the Late Jurassic; it is the first member of the Mamenchisauridae family to be officially identified in South-East Asia; the fossils were found at the Phu Noi site, in Kalasin province, within the rock layers of the Phu Kradung Formation, according to Vietnam News Agency (VNA), a partner of TV BRICS.
Other countries around the world have made discoveries regarding different forms of life from the Earth’s past.
A fossilised bird footprint found at the Pilauco palaeoarchaeological site, in the Chilean commune of Osorno, could be as much as 130,000 years old, as reported El Ciudadano, a partner of TV BRICS; the find, made by a team affiliated with the Austral University of Chile, is considered to be of great heritage value due to the scarcity of such records in the country. Following an inspection, the significance of the find was confirmed when it was established that the bird footprint was very well preserved and that there was enormous potential for discovering more.