Name: Girl, 4, finds 220 million-year-old dinosaur footprint at Wales beach
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Girl, 4, finds 220 million-year-old dinosaur footprint at Wales beach

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four-year-old girl has discovered a well-preserved dinosaur footprint on a beach, it has been revealed.Lily Wilder spotted the print, which is 220-million-years old, at Bendricks Bay, Barry, in the Vale of Glamorgan.Scientists believe the footprint could help establish how walked."It was Lily and Richard (her father) who discovered the footprint," said Lily’s mother, Sally Wilder."Lily saw it when they were walking along and said 'daddy look'. When Richard came home and showed me the photograph, I thought it looked amazing."Richard thought it was too good to be true. I was put in touch with experts who took it from there."Cindy Howells, Palaeontology Curator for the National Wales, described it as "the best specimen ever found on this beach."“It’s one of the best-preserved examples from anywhere in the UK and will really aid palaeontologists to get a better idea about how these early dinosaurs walked,” she said. “During the Covid pandemic scientists from Amgueddfa Cymru have been highlighting the importance of nature on people’s doorstep and this is a perfect example of this. Obviously, we don’t all have dinosaur footprints on our doorstep but there is wealth of nature local to you if you take the time to really look close enough.”While it’s unclear what type of dinosaur left the footprint, experts discovered that it’s 10cm long and likely from a 75cm tall dinosaur.In a statement from the National Museum Wales, they said there are no fossilised bones from this 220 million-year-old dinosaur, but similar footprints in the USA are known to have been made by the dinosaur Coelophysis.They added that many other footprints found at Bendricks Bay in the past have most likely “not been from dinosaurs, but rather from some of the more crocodilian-type reptiles that also inhabited the area.” The beach is under private ownership and is legally protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).Special permission was sought by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) in order to legally remove it. “The fossil was extracted this week and will be taken to National Museum Cardiff where it will be protected for future generations to enjoy, and for scientists to study,” the National Museum Wales added.The Bendricks is an important palaeontologist site and the South Wales group of the Geologists' Association called it "the best site in Britain for dinosaur tracks of the Triassic Period".“There are several different sizes and kinds of footprints in the rocks here. Small, three-toed footprints were probably made by small, meat eating (theropod) dinosaurs which walked on their hind legs,” they said. “Large three-toed footprints may belong to a larger theropod. Some wider, four toed footprints may belong to a plant-eating dinosaur which usually walked on all fours.”Dinosaurs first appeared about 230 million years ago, and the footprint sheds light on an early point in their evolution.Sign up for exclusive newsletters, comment on stories, enter competitions and attend events.ALREADY HAVE AN ACCOUNT? NEED AN ACCOUNT?

four-year-old girl has discovered a well-preserved dinosaur footprint on a beach, it has been revealed.Lily Wilder spotted the print, which is 220-million-years old, at Bendricks Bay, Barry, in the Vale of Glamorgan.Scientists believe the footprint could help establish how walked."It was Lily and Richard (her father) who discovered the footprint," said Lily’s mother, Sally Wilder."Lily saw it when they were walking along and said 'daddy look'. When Richard came home and showed me the photograph, I thought it looked amazing."Richard thought it was too good to be true. I was put in touch with...

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Girl, 4, finds 220 million-year-old dinosaur footprint at Wales beach

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