It’s unlikely that you’ll be walking with real-life dinosaurs on a walking holiday in Scotland, but with scientists recently discovering evidence of the prehistoric creatures, you could certainly be walking in the footsteps of these giants, reports The Guardian.
Palaeontologists from the University of Edinburgh have discovered a trail of footprints left behind by stegosaurus dinosaurs on the Isle of Skye over 170 million years ago, the first evidence that the creatures once lived in Scotland.
The grapefruit-sized triangular footprints were left by a stegosaurus around the size of a cow, as it walked along a mudflat next to what was then a shallow lagoon, on a site known as Brothers Point on the northeastern coast of Skye. Thanks to many fossils found on the island, The Isle of Skye has acquired the nickname, Dinosaur Isle.
“These footprints are the first evidence we have that this very major, very iconic group of dinosaurs lived in Scotland,” Dr Stephen Brusatte, one of the palaeontologists who led the research, told The Guardian.
The researchers found about 50 other dinosaur prints around the same location, revealing a thriving community of animals. Dr Brusatte said the findings shed light on what life would have been like on the Isle of Skye during the mid-Jurassic period, about 170 million years ago.
“It would have been overrun with … so many different types of dinosaurs: meat-eaters, plant eaters, big ones, small ones, ones that were running around, ones that were wading in the water, ones that had long necks, ones that had plates on their backs.”
Stegosaurs are among the most well-known dinosaurs, famous for their iconic diamond-shaped plates, which protrude along their backs, and a dangerous-looking spiked tail.
The Scottish government last year issued a Nature Conservation Order for Skye to legally protect the important sites, some of which have already been damaged by private collectors.
You’re unlikely to run into the ancient beasts yourself, but if you’re interested in walking tours in the highlands of Scotland, then get in touch today.