190 Million Year-Old Dino Family Tracks

The family unit has been around for a long, long time and isn’t limited to just humans, mammals and modern day creatures. Families have been sticking together for at least 200 million years and the newest find of dinosaur tracks proves that.

Tracks from a mamma and her babies have been found along with about 1,000 other track prints near Vermilion Cliffs National Monument along the Arizona-Utah border in the United States. At least four different species of dinosaurs, ranging from youngsters to adults have been located along with tail-drag impressions in the rock samples.

200 million years ago, what is today rocky land and sand dunes was a central gathering place for the dinosaurs of the region and was a literal paradise for them consisting of tropical swamps, low wetlands and plenty of hunting, grazing and watering holes to refresh their thirst.

The different size tracks may tell us that we are seeing mothers walking around with babies,” said researcher Winston Seiler, a geologist at the University of Utah.

Read a full accounting from LiveScience.

[Photo: This Eubrontes dinosaur footprint, including three toes and a heel, measures roughly 16 inches (41 cm) long and is thought to have been made by an upright-walking meat-eater. Credit: Winston Seiler.]