100-Million-Year-Old Armoured Dinosaur Footprints Unearthed in Canada

A set of 100-million-year-old footprints has been discovered in the Canadian Rockies. The prints belong to a previously unknown armoured dinosaur, now named Ruopodosaurus clava. This find challenges existing knowledge of dinosaur tracks in the region. The footprints were found at two separate sites in British Columbia and Alberta. They are the first of their kind, confirming the presence of a dinosaur never before recorded in this area. The creature that made them was likely an ankylosaurid, measuring 5-6 metres long with bony armour and spikes along its sides.

This dinosaur also had a club-like tail and three toes on each foot. The tracks date back to the Cenomanian age, making them 16 million years older than any known North American ankylosaurid bones. Ruopodosaurus clava shared its ecosystem with another species, Tetrapodosaurus borealis, in the mid-Cretaceous Peace Region. The discovery highlights how much remains unknown in fossil records. Scientists plan further exploration in British Columbia and Alberta, hoping to uncover more traces of these ancient creatures. The footprints provide new insights into the diversity of armoured dinosaurs in North America.