Thousands of dinosaur footprints dating back 210 million years have been found in a national park in northern Italy, the BBC reports.
The footprints – some of which are up to 40cm in diameter – are aligned in parallel rows, and many show clear traces of toes and claws.
It is thought the dinosaurs were prosauropods – herbivores with long necks, small heads and sharp claws.
“I never would have imagined I’d come across such a spectacular discovery in the region where I live,” said Milan-based paleontologist Cristiano Dal Sasso.
Last September a photographer spotted the footprints stretching hundreds of metres on a vertical mountain wall in the Stelvio national park, north-east of Milan.
In the Triassic period – between about 250 and 201 million years ago – the wall was a tidal flat, which later became part of the Alpine chain.
“This place was full of dinosaurs; it’s an immense scientific treasure,” Mr Dal Sasso said.
The herds moved in harmony, he added, “and there are also traces of more complex behaviours, like groups of animals gathering in a circle, perhaps for the purposes of defence.”
