200 Million Year Old Dinosaur Footprints Are Found in Africa

A group of scientists discovered the footprint of a giant carnivorous dinosaur in southern Africa nearly 200 million years ago. This article explains the key facts and context behind africa.

Key Facts About Africa

The researchers found that some footprints with three fingers are 57cm long and 50cm wide.

This may be the footprint of the newly discovered dinosaur named Kayentapus ambrokholohali with a body length of more than 30 feet and nearly 3 meters high at the hip.

According to scientists' estimates, it will be four times the size of the giant lion on Earth.

Fabien Knoll, Senior Researcher at the University of Manchester in England said: "The latest discovery is very interesting and sheds light on the types of carnivores that point to the south of Africa.".

Why Africa Matters

"That's because this is the first evidence of a huge predator that has migrated to another land because it is dominated by many carnivorous dinosaurs, omnivores and much smaller predators.", Knoll added.

Kayentapus ambrokholohali belongs to a group of dinosaurs called "megatheropod", according to research published in the journal PLOS ONE.

The term "Megatheropods" describes giant giant carnivorous dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex) with fossils showing a length of about 12 meters.

The study also revealed that these footprints make up the largest prehistoric traces in Africa.

These traces were found on an ancient soil surface, known as an ancient surface, in the Maseru district of Lesotho, a small country in southern Africa.

See also: Dinosaurs used colors to camouflage.