Massive titanosaur footprints found in Gobi desert

New Delhi: A joint Mongolian- Japanese expedition has recently discovered a giant footprint of titanosaur near Gobi desert, South Africa.

This giant footprint is 106 centimetres (42 inches) long and 77 centimetres wide. The fossilized footprint was found last month underneath a geological layer formed between 70 million and 90 million years ago.

It was naturally cast, as sand flowed into dents that had been left by the creature stomping on the once muddy ground.

The footprint is believed to have belonged to titanosaur, a long-necked dinosaur, and could have been more than 30 meters long and 20 meters tall, according researchers. The footprint cast is natural and it might have formed after the gigantic creature stomped once on the muddy ground and sand flowed into the dents.

"This is a very rare discovery as it's a well-preserved fossil footprint that is more than a meter long with imprints of its claws," said a statement issued by Okayama University of Science.

The Japanese university has been involved in the study with the Mongolian Academy of Science.

(With agency inputs)