Dinosaur tracks on Skye reveal Jurassic behaviours and habitats
On the Scottish Isle of Skye, a team of researchers has discovered 131 dinosaur tracks from the Jurassic period, offering new insights into their behaviour and habitat.
The research, published on April 2 in the scientific journal "PLOS ONE" by researcher Tone Blakesley from the University of Edinburgh and colleagues, reveals that these well-preserved tracks are located in the island's folded rock formations.
Mysteries hidden in dinosaur tracks
The discovered tracks, measuring about 25 to 60 centimetres in length, belong to two types: three-toed tracks left by bipedal, carnivorous theropods, and rounded, tire-like tracks made by quadrupedal, long-necked sauropods. Based on comparisons with previous finds, scientists speculate that these tracks could have been made by large theropods similar to Megalosaurus and early branches of the neosauropod group, resembling Cetiosaurus.
Neosauropods were large herbivorous reptiles that lived during the late Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods. They were characterized by long necks and tails, and their massive bodies were adapted to moving on four legs. Species like Cetiosaurus had relatively short heads compared to the rest of their body, and their spines were more flexible than those of earlier sauropods. Neosauropods could reach enormous sizes and dominate plant ecosystems, moving in search of food.
The uniqueness of the discovered tracks
Many of these tracks appear in sequential steps, with the longest exceeding 12 metres, making them some of the longest-known examples from the Isle of Skye. The spacing and orientation of these tracks suggest a slow gait without a consistent direction, indicating that the dinosaurs moved freely at various times.
Tone Blakesley from the University of Edinburgh, along with the team, emphasizes that the footprints at Prince Charles’s Point provide fascinating insights into the behaviour and environmental distribution of carnivorous theropods and herbivorous, long-necked sauropods during a significant period in their evolution. On the Isle of Skye, these dinosaurs clearly preferred shallow, lagoon-like environments over exposed, underwater mud.
This site confirms previous evidence that Jurassic sauropods often visited Scottish lagoons, which are coastal water bodies. However, this site has a higher proportion of theropod tracks than similar locations, which may indicate environmental differences between these ancient lagoons. The absence of tracks from other dinosaurs, such as stegosaurs or ornithopods, remains a mystery.
This discovery is part of a larger research project conducted by the PalAlba team, supported by the National Geographic Society and the Philip Leverhulme Prize awarded to Stephen L. Brusatte.
