临夏世界地质公园新发现白垩纪微小型恐龙足迹化石 属中国西北首次
Cretaceous small dinosaur footprints found in Linxia Global Geopark which is first time in northwest China
在甘肃省临夏回族自治州永靖县，黄河三峡大景区管委会恐龙博物馆的工作人员于近日新发现一组五枚小型恐龙足迹化石。经专家初步判断，这组化石为白垩纪时期的微小型恐龙足迹化石，是世界上已发现的、最小的恐龙足迹化石之一。
受近期持续降水影响，恐龙博物馆工作人员在临夏世界地质公园内一处剥落的岩体表面，发现了一组五枚恐龙足迹化石，单枚足迹长度大约一至三厘米。
长期从事恐龙研究的中国地质大学（北京）副教授邢立达实地考察后初步判断，这组化石为白垩纪早期的微小型恐龙足迹化石，是世界上已发现的最小的恐龙足迹化石之一。
据了解，白垩纪时期的微小型恐龙足迹化石最早于中国四川盆地发现，后来在中国的山东省以及韩国等地也陆续发现过。邢立达说，“在临夏的新发现，很可能表明这类足迹在同期有更大的分布，对研究这些区域的生物地层学、地质年代和恐龙多样性都有重要意 义。”
邢立达介绍，这是首次在中国西北发现微小型恐龙足迹化石。新发现的微小型恐龙足迹地层岩面有很明显的波痕构造，说明微小型恐龙足迹造迹者是在水边活动，与不少水鸟足迹化石在一起，这样的组合和其他几个地区的发现保持一致。
这个新发现在科学研究和科普上都非常有价值。通过这些化石，我们可以从另一个维度来了解恐龙的小型化，恐龙小型化是恐龙演化为鸟的要素，是一个非常重要的演化事件。
20世纪90年代末起，临夏州永靖县发现了总量2000余枚的刘家峡恐龙足迹化石群。该足迹化石群分异度高、保存清晰且多层位出现。
A set of five fossilized small dinosaur footprints from the Cretaceous period has been discovered in northwest China's Gansu Province, believed to be among the smallest known dinosaur tracks in the world.
Workers from a dinosaur museum in the Linxia Global Geopark in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture found them inside the geopark in early August after continuous rainfall exposed the footprints on a weathered rock surface.Each footprint measures approximately one to three cm in length.
Xing Lida, an associate professor at the China University of Geosciences (Beijing), noted that such footprints were first found in the country's Sichuan Basin and later discovered in Shandong Province and then the Republic of Korea.
The latest discovery in Linxia suggests a broader distribution of these tracks during the same period, which is significant to the study of biostratigraphy, geological ages and dinosaur diversity in these regions, said Xing.
Xing emphasized the discovery's scientific value, stating that it provides a new perspective on dinosaur miniaturization, a key step towards the evolution of birds.
Xing explained that the rock surface shows clear ripple marks, suggesting that the small dinosaurs were active near water, with many waterbird footprints found alongside them, forming a typical combination consistent with findings in other regions.
These footprints not only reflect the habits and behaviors of dinosaurs but also shed light on their relationship with the environment.
Since the late 1990s, over 2,000 dinosaur footprints have been found in Linxia's Yongjing County, part of the geopark, known as the "Liujiaxia dinosaur footprint cluster."
