Dinosaur Footprints in Canada

Dinosaur footprints found in Canada suggest that different kinds of dinosaurs lived together in groups. Modern animals, like zebras and wildebeest that travel together across the African savanna, do the same thing. Larger groups are safer from predators.

The footprints are 76 million years old and were found in Alberta, Canada, in an area of about 312 square feet. Paleontologists said 13 of the tracks belonged to ceratopsians, a group of horned dinosaurs including Triceratops. They think five or more dinosaurs were walking together.

Next to these tracks was a set of footprints thought to belong to ankylosaurs, a group that includes Ankylosaurus. The prints weren't crowded, and the space between them was almost the same, so researchers believe the dinosaurs were walking together side by side.

Nearby, the team found two sets of Tyrannosaurus rex tracks, which could have belonged to predators following the group. The different species might stay together to protect themselves from the larger T. rexes.

"It was exciting to be walking in the footsteps of dinosaurs 76 million years after they laid them down," said Brian Pickles, an author of the study. But other scientists disagree with the findings. Future digs may help us learn more about how different dinosaurs lived together.