Killer Dinosaur: A 13-year-old girl discovered theropod footprints that are 130 million years old (photos included).

In the city of Wulan in Gansu Province, located in the northwest of China, a 13-year-old girl discovered tracks of a bird-like theropod (Grallator ssatoi). This predatory dinosaur lived approximately 130 million years ago, reports the Global Times publication.

The theropod tracks from the Cretaceous period are among the best-preserved. Chinese dinosaur expert Xin Lida mentions that the tracks were first noticed in 2006, but their scientific significance was only publicly confirmed in 2020. Chinese researchers examined the site in June 2023 and initiated a research project.

All 67 dinosaur tracks have three toes, with lengths ranging from 11 to 21 centimeters. The wide angles between the second and fourth toes are characteristic of Grallator ssatoi, which lived during the Jurassic-Cretaceous period in China.

Studies have indicated that bird-like theropods moved in a rather tight formation, staying close together to fend off other predators.

Considering the length and shape of the tracks, the height of the dinosaur's hips ranged from 60 to 90 cm, while the length of the largest individual reached 2.5 meters. Moreover, these creatures moved almost in a straight line, clarifies the China.org publication.

The area of the Grallator ssatoi tracks was submerged by the Yellow River several decades ago and was uncovered during road construction.

As a reminder, scientists from the universities of Oxford and Birmingham found around 200 dinosaur tracks dating back 166 million years.