TUMBLER RIDGE -- Scientists in Tumbler Ridge have uncovered another historic fossil track.
Dr. Charles Helm and Dr. Roy Rule have written a scientific paper about the rare type of footprint, called Magnoavipes, which translates to "big bird-foot."
However, scientists say the tracks likely belong to a dinosaur called an ornithomimid rather than a bird. Only three of these tracks have been found in Canada, all in Tumbler Ridge, making it a 'rare and valuable' find.
“The specimen was found in a track-rich area that also yielded crocodile tracks, turtle tracks and swim traces, tail drag traces of large reptiles or dinosaurs, and numerous dinosaur tracks,” read a release from the Tumblr Ridge Museum Foundation.
The tracks are said to be between 22 and 25 centimetres long and approximately 95 million years old, with many similar tracks believed to have been lost over time.
“Many such tracks have probably been exposed and destroyed over time, and more specimens will hopefully now be identified.”
The discovered tracks are now on display at the Tumbler Ridge Museum.
Past discoveries in the district include prints of giant crocodiles and tyrannosaurs, among several other prehistoric reptiles and birds.
The Tumbler Ridge Museum, located at the UNESCO Global Geopark in Treaty 8 Territory, researches and displays archives over 400 million years of Northeast BC history.
