Australian High School Rock Revealed to Hold 66 Dinosaur Footprints

Paleontologists discovered one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur tracks in Australia on a rock that sat unnoticed for 20 years.

The rock, donated to Biloela State High School in Queensland, Australia, was originally excavated from a nearby coal mine in 2002.
Researchers identified 66 footprints from 47 individual dinosaurs, likely belonging to the ichnospecies Anomoepus scambus, small herbivorous dinosaurs from the Early Jurassic period.
The tracks were preserved in wet, silty clay and provide a rare glimpse into dinosaur movement and behavior from 200 million years ago.
Advanced 3D imaging and light filters revealed the full extent of the footprints, which had gone largely unnoticed despite the rock being in the school's foyer for decades.
The discovery underscores the potential for significant fossils to remain hidden in plain sight, with researchers now encouraging the public to report unusual findings.