A stone slab that's been sitting in a high school for more than 20 years contains the "one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur footprints" ever found in Australia.
University of QueenslandThe footprints were left by Anomoepus scambus, a small dinosaur that walked on two legs.
For decades, a slab of stone sat outside the main office of a high school in Queensland, Australia. It had been found in a local coal mine and was covered with fossilized footprints. However, it wasn’t until recently that researchers took a closer look at the stone — and realized that the tracks were from dozens of dinosaurs who’d walked across its surface.
The 200-million-year-old slab is a remarkable specimen, especially since scientists haven’t found any dinosaur bones from that era in Australia. After sitting unnoticed in a high school for 20 years, this extraordinary artifact is finally getting its due.
The Stone Slab Covered With Dinosaur Footprints
The slab was first discovered by coal miners at Callide Basin in Queensland in 2002. The miners handed it over to a geologist, who gifted it to a high school in the small town of Biloela, where his wife was a teacher. For more than two decades, it sat by the school’s office, virtually unnoticed by those who passed by.
This changed after the community learned about work that Anthony Romilio, a paleontologist with of the University of Queensland’s Dinosaur Lab, had done on other prehistoric footprints found nearby. Romilio was called to the school — and found the slab covered with more than five dozen dinosaur tracks.
As Romilio told All That’s Interesting, paleontologists had visited the stone before and even taken samples. But somehow, these samples were “lost” — and interest in the stone seemingly waned. Thus, Romilio’s first encounter with the stone was marked by “a mix of surprise and logistical challenges.”
“When I first saw it at the school, despite its modest size, it was far too heavy for a single person to lift,” Romilio recalled. “I had intended to remove it from its mount to place it on the floor for creating a silicone mould (The ‘Muscle Team’ were part of my next visit to solve that problem).”
Romilio continued, “The second significant moment came after I had taken numerous photographs to develop a 2D virtual model of the surface. By applying visualisation techniques such as adding contours, elevation maps, and occlusion shading, the footprints became strikingly apparent. It was only then that I was able to count the remarkably large number of footprints present.”
University of QueenslandDr. Anthony Romilio of the University of Queensland Dinosaur Lab with the stone slab covered in dinosaur footprints.
Indeed, the stone that was all but forgotten in a high school foyer contains “one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur footprints” ever found in Australia. Specifically, it’s preserved 66 footprints from 47 individual dinosaurs who walked across its surface some 200 million years ago.
“It’s an unprecedented snapshot of dinosaur abundance, movement and behaviour from a time when no fossilised dinosaur bones have been found in Australia,” Romilio said in a University of Queensland statement.
The Dinosaurs Who Left Behind Their Footprints
After closely examining the stone, Romilio was able to “reveal hidden details in the footprints.” The prints each had three toes, which indicates that they were left by the species Anomoepus scambus.
University of QueenslandThe prints were left by Anomoepus scambus some 200 million years ago.
“Evidence from skeletal fossils overseas tells us dinosaurs with feet like these were plant eaters with long legs, a chunky body, short arms, and a small head with a beak,” Romilio explained.
Some 200 million years ago, several dozen of them left their prints on the stone. According to Romilio, they were moving slowly — just about three miles per hour — when they walked over a swath of wet clay.
“These footprints, which are globally recognized from the Early Jurassic period, were first described in the 1800s,” Romilio told All That’s Interesting. “The specimens from our study reveal that these small dinosaurs were highly abundant across ancient Queensland, often frequenting the shallows of broad river systems. This particular site suggests many of them were crossing a river together, possibly moving as a group. The pace and arrangement of the footprints indicate that they were walking, not rushing, providing a glimpse into their movement behaviours during that time.”
Remarkably, the high school slab is not the only fossil-covered rock that Romilio has spotted hiding in plain sight. Recently, he also stumbled across another stone from the Callide Basin that was being used as a car park entry delineator at Callide Mine.
University of QueenslandRomilio with the car park stone, which he discovered is also covered in dinosaur footprints.
“This rock is much larger… with two distinct footprints left by a slightly larger dinosaur walking on two legs around 80 centimeters (roughly 2.5 feet) in length,” Romilio explained, adding: “Along with a sample from a third rock that is encased in resin and was being used as a bookend, we have gained new insight into the ancient past in this region.”
To Romilio, these discoveries are a reminder that history — even 200-million-year-old history — can often be found in unexpected places.
“Significant fossils like this can sit unnoticed for years, even in plain sight,” Romilio remarked. “It’s incredible to think that a piece of history this rich was resting in a schoolyard all this time.”
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