In the opencast mine in Borkowice, excellently preserved tracks and bones of dinosaurs were found. Experts have estimated their age at around 200 million years.
According to scientists from the Polish Geological Institute, these are the best preserved remains of predatory dinosaurs found in Poland. Some of the clues are up to 40 centimeters long.
Natural casts
The discovery was made this summer. Prof. dr hab. Grzegorz Pieńkowski from the Polish Geological Institute - National Research Institute and Dr. Grzegorz Niedźwiedzki from the University of Uppsala. The remains were on the Lower Jurassic sandstone plates in a quarry in Borkowice.
photo:PIG-NRI Archive
The find is as well preserved as the best fossils so far discovered in Greenland, North America, South Africa and China. 3D scans of footprints imprinted in sedimentary rock show even the preserved impressions of the scales covering the fingers of dinosaurs! Prof. dr hab. Grzegorz Pieńkowski from PGI-NRI explains:
In order for such a state of preservation to be possible, a sequence of events had to take place in a short time:the retreat of the lagoon waters from this area, the revealing of a clay bottom, the entry of dinosaurs onto the still plastic (but not too boggy) ground, drying of the ground and consolidation of the tracks (as evidenced by there are cracks from drying out crossing some tracks), the area is flooded again quickly and the surface is covered just as quickly by the sedimentation of a sandbank of the emerging barrier - thus the traces have been preserved as natural castings .
Extremely valuable specimens
In addition to the tracks, scientists also found traces of bones in the form of voids and sandstone casts. These are located above the layer where the traces were discovered and constitute the basis for completing the knowledge of the dinosaur communities inhabiting prehistoric Borkowice. In addition to the bones of dinosaurs, traces of fish and other animals were also found. Dr. Grzegorz Niedźwiedzki says:
In the traces left by dinosaurs, you can read their behavior and habits. And so in Borkowice we have traces left by dinosaurs running, swimming, resting and sitting on a muddy settlement and many enigmatic biogenic structures, probably related to various life activities of the dinosaurs living there (e.g. traces of feeding or burying in the sediment). Track findings point to an exceptionally complex fauna team inhabiting the area .
Three-toed predatory dinosaur tracks
Several hundred dinosaur tracks belonging to at least seven different species have been secured in the open pit. The scientists face a difficult task:Borkowice probably hides much more palaeontological treasures, but to extract them requires heavy equipment and considerable financial outlays. Currently, procedures are underway to establish a documentation stand and to put the place where the traces were found under protection.
Source:
- Discovery of world-unique dinosaur traces in Mazovia , Państwowy Instytut Geologiczny - National Research Institute (accessed:December 14, 2021).