Early Jurassic dinosaur footprints discovered in Guizhou

A research team said Friday that they had discovered at least 250 dinosaur footprints in Southwest China's Guizhou province.

The footprints, scattered over an area of about 350 square meters, were found at the construction site of a wine factory in Maotai Township, home to China's famous alcohol brand, Kweichow Moutai.

Experts from China, the United States and Germany have said they are Sauropod footprints from the early Jurassic period.

It is believed to be the largest tracksite of Sauropods from the period ever found in China.

A research paper regarding the tracks was published in Geoscience Frontiers in July.

"It is rare to see footprints of Sauropods from the early Jurassic period in China. Although a few footprints have previously been discovered in Sichuan and Guizhou provinces and Chongqing Municipality, they were severely eroded," said Xing Lida, from the research team and a dinosaur footprint expert with China University of Geosciences.

"The new findings are well preserved and can help us to understand the distribution and evolution of dinosaurs in the early Jurassic period."

The research team is working with the wine factory and local authorities to roll out a protection plan for the footprints.

Sauropods were a group of huge, plant-eating, four-footed dinosaurs with long necks and tails, and one of the largest animals to ever walk the Earth.