河北发现4300多个恐龙足迹！专家：有着不可替代的价值

本文转自：中国日报

恐龙足迹化石作为“历史的脚印”，一直受到人们的重视。

日前，河北省自然资源厅发布古生物化石调查成果，经过调查评价，2020年4月，河北地质调查人员在张家口宣化发现的大型恐龙足迹化石群，涉及面积约9100平米，共有恐龙足迹4300多个，初步确定这些足迹来自4种恐龙。

图源：新华网

More than 4,300 dinosaur footprints have been discovered in Zhangjiakou, North China's Hebei province, the most such markings found in one spot in the country, according to the Department of Natural Resources of Hebei, which recently disclosed related survey results.

这处恐龙足迹化石点位于宣化区的一处山坡上。在坚硬的岩石上，分布着密密麻麻的恐龙足迹。这些足迹有的近似圆形，有的则是类似兽爪的形状，保存得十分清晰。

图源：新华网

地质调查人员对现场的地质年代测定结果显示，这些恐龙足迹所在的岩石层距今有1.5亿年了。通过专家对痕迹的辨认和分类探查，确定共有恐龙足迹4属4种，并新发现恐龙足迹种属1例。

The footprints are located on fine, pebbly sandstone that dates back 150 million years and was covered by thick volcanic ash, providing good conditions for the preservation of the footprints.

据专家介绍，这个层面它属于侏罗纪到白垩纪之交的时代。在一亿多年以前这里曾经有大片的森林和水源，所以有大量的植食性和肉食性恐龙在这里聚集。

"It can be inferred that the footprints belong to an era around the Jurassic and the Cretaceous, when there were large forests and water sources here," said Sun Xiao, a chief engineer at the Regional Geological Survey Institute affiliated with Hebei Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources Exploration, quoted by Hebei Daily. Jurassic n. 侏罗纪时代 Cretaceous n. 白垩纪时代

图源：央视新闻截图

通过这些脚印，科学家可以确定恐龙是如何行走的，计算它们的长度、重量和大小，甚至估计它们的行走速度。从现场足迹来推断，专家表示植食性恐龙体长可达15米以上，肉食性恐龙体长可达4到5米。

From the footprints, scientists can determine how dinosaurs walked, calculate their length, weight and size, and even estimate their walking speed.

一名工人在测量在河北张家口发现的恐龙脚印

这些完好的恐龙足迹为我们了解恐龙的生活方式提供了精彩的视角，对于研究古生物群落的关联性等科学问题具有极其重要的价值。

"Dinosaur bones become fossils after their death, while dinosaur footprints are left from when they were alive, which provide wonderful insights into how dinosaurs lived. They can provide a lot of information about their behavior, as well as information on paleogeography and paleoenvironment. Therefore, dinosaur footprints play an irreplaceable role," said Li Jianjun, a researcher from the Beijing Museum of Natural History. paleogeography n. 古地理学 paleoenvironment n. 古环境 paleo- 前缀，表示“古；旧”之义

记者：张余