Hiding in plain sight: Over 60 dinosaur footprints went unnoticed for 20 years at a school

Nothing out of the ordinary usually happens in Biloela, a quiet rural town in the Shire of Banana, Central Queensland, Australia - at least not until the start of this year when a startling discovery was made.

Using advanced 3D imaging and light filters, Queensland University researcher Dr Anthony Romilio identified 66 fossilized footprints on a boulder which uncovered 20 years ago at Callide Basin in Central Queensland and given to the local high school. The rock has been dated to the Early Jurassic period, around 200 million years ago.

Dinosaur footprints left in soft, white clay

“The footprints are from 47 individual dinosaurs which passed across a patch of wet, white clay, possibly walking along or crossing a waterway,” Dr Romilio explained.

“It’s an unprecedented snapshot of dinosaur abundance, movement and behavior from a time when no fossilized dinosaur bones have been found in Australia," he added “Each footprint has 3 toes, indicating they belong to the ichnospecies Anomoepus scambus. These dinosaurs were small, with legs ranging from 15–50 cm in length and when they left these marks, they were travelling less than 6 km/hr. Evidence from skeletal fossils overseas tells us dinosaurs with feet like these were plant eaters with long legs, a chunky body, short arms, and a small head with a beak.”

The discovery represents one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur footprints per square meter ever documented in Australia. All known Early Jurassic dinosaur fossils in the country are preserved as footprints at three sites in Queensland: Mount Morgan, Carnarvon Gorge and Biloela.

Callide Mine fossils found

Following on from a 2021 publication which detailed a dinosaur track from Biloela, researchers conducted a search for additional undescribed track specimens originating from the Callide Mine. The investigation resulted in the discovery of three boulders bearing tracks: two in semi-public displays and one held in a private collection.

The discovery provides an “unprecedented snapshot” of the abundance of dinosaurs during Australia’s Early Jurassic - a period during which no dinosaur bones have been uncovered.

So why has this historic rock sat unnoticed for the past two decades? “Significant fossils like this can sit unnoticed for years, even in plain sight,” Dr Romilio said. “It’s incredible to think that a piece of history this rich was resting in a schoolyard all this time.“

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