Dinosaur footprints dating back 120 million years confirmed in Udon Thani

Site wil be preserved for study and tourism

Paleontologists have confirmed that six fossilized footprints found in Udon Thani were left by a carnivorous dinosaur about 120 million years ago, and the site will be protected and developed for scientific study and tourism. 

Confirmation was announced on Tuesday by the Department of Mineral Resources. It is  the first such discovery in the northeastern province.

The announcement followed an inspection of the site at Phu Phra Bat, in Ban Phue district, where the fossilized footprints were discovered by Pichai Prathetsena.

Nipon Chamnongsirisak, deputy permanent secretary of natural resources and environment  acting director-general of the department, said he had assigned the fossil protection division and regional office 2 to investigate the discovery alongside officials from Phu Hin Chom That-Phu Phra Bat National Park, the Fine Arts Department and other agencies.

The inspection identified a trackway comprising six footprints left by a theropod, a group of bipedal dinosaurs that included carnivorous species. The prints were preserved in sandstone belonging to the Phu Phan formation, which dates to the early cretaceous period, approximately 120 million years ago.

Each footprint has three prominent, pointed toes and is about 29cm long and 26cm wide.

Based on the dimensions of the prints, researchers estimate the dinosaur stood approximately 1.42 metres tall at the hip with a body length around 6.3 metres. Its estimated size is comparable to Siamotyrannus isanensis, an extinct theropod dinosaur earlier discovered in Thailand from the same geological period.

The Department of Mineral Resources has proposed that the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and the Fine Arts Department establish a protected zone around the discovery site to prevent damage caused by visitors.

Measures to prevent water erosion are also being considered, alongside plans to develop the area into an important national centre for geological and fossil studies, research and tourism.

The proposed protection measures would be implemented in accordance with Section 25 of the Fossil Protection Act 2008, which provides a legal framework for safeguarding fossil sites.