Fossilized footprints gave scientists a glimpse into what daily life was like for two carnivorous dinosaurs that walked the shores of Germany 142 million years ago.
The footprints belonged to two dinosaurs, one large and the other much smaller, the University of Southern Denmark reported.
The nature of the fossils indicated neither dinosaur was in a hurry, and were essentially strolling along the beach. In some instances the smaller dinosaur appeared to scamper forward to catch up with the larger one, but their steps were mostly slow and steady. Their average speed was about 3.9 miles per hour for the larger dinosaur and six for the smaller creature; this is relatively slow for hunting dinosaurs, which can run at speeds of up to 24 miles per hour.
The researchers believe the dinosaurs were from the species Megalosauripus. The little one appeared to have crossed its legs several times, possibly because it lost balance or bent down to pick up something to eat.
"If so, this may illustrate two social animals, perhaps a parent and a young," said researcher Pernille Venø Troelsen.
The researchers noted that it cannot be confirmed both tracks were made at the same time, but past findings have suggested dinosaurs were social animals who often hunted together and took care of their offspring after birth.
"There may be many years apart, in which case it maybe reflects two animals randomly crossing each other's tracks. We can also see that a duckbill dinosaur (Iguanodon) has crossed their tracks at one time or another, so there has been some traffic in the area," Troelsen said.
The findings will be presented at the XIII Annual Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Paleontologists in Opole, Poland.
