[Yonhap Photo]
For the first time in the world, South Korean researchers have discovered the footprint fossils of a "limping" gargantuan sauropod from the Cretaceous period in Goseong, a southern seaside town well known for beach rocks embedded with hundreds of dinosaur footprints.
The footprints were discovered by a geological research center at the Chinju National University of Education. Four sauropod footprints standing out from the others were found to be asymmetrical with one foreleg moving out from an alignment with the hind legs.
Previously, the footprint fossils of limping dinosaurs were found in Germany and Portugal but they were all from the Jurassic period.
The limping sauropod in Goseong was named "Jeoltteugi" in Korean (Limper in English). "The footprint fossils are very important environmental specimens which let humans take a peek at the Cretaceous period", the research team said in a statement.
The research results will be presented at this week's Joint Conference of the Geological Science & Technology of Korea.
ark Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
