A photo dated back to 1964, sent off Emese Bordy from the University of Cape Town to track down what he saw in the photographs. It captured images of dinosaur footprints located on a farm in South Africa. Looking up the current owner of the farm, he with a photographer and historian got permission to document the fossil evidence. The dinosaur footprints were found in the Karoo Basin, which had igneous rocks from lava activity during the Early Jurassic epoch. Fossils are another bonus to be found, when lucky enough.
The group discovered up to 25 footprints, five trackways were embedded in ancient sandstone in the middle of basaltic layers. Most of the rocks were composed of igneous rock from lava that cooled fast to preserve the tracks for millions of years. Estimates of the possible age of the fossil tracks are 183 million years ago (MYA), as dinosaurs trotted in the burning landscape. From an analysis, the sandstone indicates that it was a seasonal stream where the tracks are preserved, there could be flash flooding occurring too.
A majority of the prints found in the rock were large carnivores, like the Coelophysis genus that is a biped. This was deduced from the space and distance between footprints. Next is comparing the numbers that are relevant to how big they were. It gave the indicators what particular species to look for. The Coelophysis was the best candidate to consider who made those tracks.
More prints were found scuttling through as well, they might be small herbivores that were quadrupeds. Some less obvious prints were that of synapsids, which might be proto-mammals who are ancestors of modern mammals.
Points of interest that drew attention to this new ichnospecies is the footprints left by it, from trace fossils not fossilized remains of the actual animal. It is called "Afrodelatorrichnus Ellenberger", after Paul Ellenberger. One of the pioneers in vertebrate ichnology and an expert in this field of study.
To be precise these footprints are dated to the first appearance of dinosaurs this time was turbulent, many geologic changes and volcanic activity took its toll. In the early part of this epoch, the end of Triassic extinction killed 76% of species on land and in the seas. Right after, the survivors were the proto-dinosaurs to become the largest family of creatures in any other era,
Mass dying and extinction of most species are the handiwork of volcanoes and lava that covered vast landscapes. One would call it scorched earth when the area of the farm was a burning field of lava flows. Volcanic activity changed the earth in many ways, which kill off many sea creatures by the thousands. Studying the remain of the lava flows, and the remnants gave an impression of how to remake the ancient land about 183 million years into the past.
Between stages of lava and time when the land was reborn, and life was abundant, then it happened again. It was regular as clockwork as nature operated normally. These rocks are a record of the animals and plants that thrive in a chaotic world. There is no way to measure exact intervals that occurred, other than that it was a cycle.
These animals were literal firewalkers that trudged on burnt and scarred lands leaving ancient footprints. Next is to find fossils that will answer more question to give us answers, but provide more questions for the future as well.
