Footprints of Infant Stegosaurus Dinosaur Found Near Denver, CO

by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff

Image by U.S. Geological Survey via Flickr.com

MORRISON, CO - According to Science Daily, researchers west of Denver, in the town of Morrison, have discovered two rare footprints from a baby dinosaur hatchling. The footprints were discovered near Morrison by researchers at the Morrison Natural History Museum.

Dr. Robert T. Bakker, leading paleontologist and the paleontology curator of the Morrison Natural History Museum, said that these are the first prints ever found to be made of a Stegosaurus baby. The Stegosaurus was said to have been discovered in Morrison in 1877 and is the state fossil for Colorado.

"The tracks are so crisply preserved that I can imagine the sound of tiny feet splashing up water when the baby dinosaurs came to this ancient river to drink and cool down. I still can't get over just how small these footprints are," Dr. Matthew Mossbrucker, the director of the museum, said. Mossbrucker found the tracks.

A 50-cent piece can completely cover the tracks, which shows just how small these tracks are. This means that the tiny newborn stegosaurus babies were about the size of a human baby. The Morrison Natural History Museum has an annual event called "Dinosaur Days", which will feature the stegosaurus tracks found in Morrison. The tracks will stay on permanent display at the museum.

Mossbrucker told Science Daily: "If these dinosaurs were hatching in our modern world instead of 150 million years ago, they would be within sight of Denver's skyscrapers. These infant dinosaur fossils have raised more questions than they have answered. We'll have to keep digging."

Morrison is historically known for its history with dinosaurs. According to FrontRangeLiving.com, it boasts an unusual museum called Dinosaur Ridge. Dinosaur Ridge is essentially a road that runs right through a mountain of rock that is scribed with fossils of dinosaur footprints, fossils, ferns, and much more. This is a history from the time when dinosaurs roamed what are now known as the foothills of Colorado.

There are also many native plants and flowers growing through the cracks. Dinosaur bones can be seen protruding through the solid rocky surface that Earth was once made of. Children are often seen staring in awe at the footprints of mother and baby dinosaurs imprinted into the rocks. Dinosaurs that roamed this ridge lived during the Jurassic period, so you won't see any T-rex remains, but you will see traces of the Iguanodon, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, and others that roamed the land during the Jurassic Period.


*I originally published this via Yahoo Contributor Network