A casual summer beach walk in South Wales turned into a prehistoric adventure for 10-year-old Tegan after she stumbled upon something extraordinary massive dinosaur footprints that date back over 200 million years.
While exploring the shoreline at Penarth with her mother, Claire, Tegan discovered five enormous footprints embedded in red siltstone at Lavernock Point, a location nestled between Cardiff and Barry along the Glamorgan Heritage Coast.
These colossal prints, spaced up to 75 centimetres apart, are believed to have been made by a large herbivorous dinosaur from the late Triassic period. Experts are leaning towards identifying the creature as a member of the sauropodomorph family, a group of long-necked dinosaurs that once roamed the Earth.
The discovery has sparked excitement among palaeontologists, with the National Museum Wales’ palaeontology curator, Cindy Howells, expressing strong confidence in the footprints’ authenticity. “What’s telling is the alternating left and right feet, with a consistent distance between them. If they were just random holes, we’d be sceptical, but this pattern suggests a deliberate gait,” Howells shared with the BBC.
Claire, who once lived in the area, was just as thrilled as her daughter. “It was so cool and exciting. We were just out looking to see what we could find—we didn’t think we’d find anything. We found these big holes that looked like dinosaur footprints, so I took some pictures, emailed the museum, and it turns out they were made by a long-necked dinosaur,” Claire recounted.
The discovery has captivated the scientific community, with Howells, a seasoned dinosaur expert with 40 years of experience, hailing it as a significant find. “It’s hard to comprehend you’re walking on the same beach that hundreds of millions of years ago some massive prehistoric animal was here. You can spend a lifetime looking for dinosaur treasures, so for it to happen for Tegan at this age is incredible.”
As palaeontologists continue to study the footprints, Tegan and her mother are left in awe of their extraordinary encounter with Earth’s distant past.
While exploring the shoreline at Penarth with her mother, Claire, Tegan discovered five enormous footprints embedded in red siltstone at Lavernock Point, a location nestled between Cardiff and Barry along the Glamorgan Heritage Coast.
These colossal prints, spaced up to 75 centimetres apart, are believed to have been made by a large herbivorous dinosaur from the late Triassic period. Experts are leaning towards identifying the creature as a member of the sauropodomorph family, a group of long-necked dinosaurs that once roamed the Earth.
The discovery has sparked excitement among palaeontologists, with the National Museum Wales’ palaeontology curator, Cindy Howells, expressing strong confidence in the footprints’ authenticity. “What’s telling is the alternating left and right feet, with a consistent distance between them. If they were just random holes, we’d be sceptical, but this pattern suggests a deliberate gait,” Howells shared with the BBC.
Claire, who once lived in the area, was just as thrilled as her daughter. “It was so cool and exciting. We were just out looking to see what we could find—we didn’t think we’d find anything. We found these big holes that looked like dinosaur footprints, so I took some pictures, emailed the museum, and it turns out they were made by a long-necked dinosaur,” Claire recounted.
The discovery has captivated the scientific community, with Howells, a seasoned dinosaur expert with 40 years of experience, hailing it as a significant find. “It’s hard to comprehend you’re walking on the same beach that hundreds of millions of years ago some massive prehistoric animal was here. You can spend a lifetime looking for dinosaur treasures, so for it to happen for Tegan at this age is incredible.”
As palaeontologists continue to study the footprints, Tegan and her mother are left in awe of their extraordinary encounter with Earth’s distant past.