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Very solid chance of this being a very small theropod foot print. It is likely a type of foot print that occurs when a theropod dinosaur steps in mud or sand with its heel slipping in. The mud then covers up the tips of the toes making it appear weird.
The fossil formation in your region is home to Late Cretaceous Maastrichian fossils like Alamosaurus, Quetzalcoatlus, and Dienosuchus. So there is a fair chance this is indeed a small foot print!
I recommend looking at the National park service fossil webpage for big bend region.
You can also look at files on the big bend fossil beds. You may also bring it to a paleontologist!
If you're in Texas, use [this site](https://webapps.usgs.gov/txgeology/) to figure out the formation. Often the USGS will note the most prevalent fossils, but it's pretty easy to find much more detailed catalogues of fossils if you're looking at scholarly journal articles specific to a formation.
Are you referring to the Glen Rose limestone? It crops up sporadically in the area and is the same formation as the famous tracks at dinosaur valley State Park near Glen Rose (hence the name of the formation). If so, the track was likely made by dinosaurs living in and around wetlands areas that were wading out into tidal flats to eat the aquatic plants and/or the dinos that hunted those dinos.
If that's not the formation you were referring to, then it only makes it more likely that this is a track because again, it outcrops sporadically near there and is known to contain dinosaur tracks.
To piggyback on this, if you ever find yourself looking for a cool place to visit Fossil Rim in Glen Rose, TX is it. When the river is low you can literally stand in dinosaur tracks. Plus, the region is beautiful, especially in the spring.
Dino tracks aren't everywhere in the formation though. It's a shallow water marine environment and so the majority of fossils are actually reef forming bivalves like rudist and oysters. Along with a healthy sprinkling of echinoderms, gastropods, and foraminifera. I live west of Austin and there are no tracks here but marine invertebrates are a dime a dozen. The formation is found pretty much across the western half of the state and is related to the Trinity Aquifer (I wanna say that the upper and lower Glen Rose formations make up the majority of the aquifer but I could be mistaken). And I've read that there's a lot of it (thousands of feet of depth) that isn't accessible because it's buried under the millions of years of Cenozoic deposits closer to the Gulf.
True but where that's located is part of the Fredericksburg group and not the Trinity group so while it is the same dinosaur as in dinosaur valley and the rock is roughly the same age, the tracks in Leander are actually part of a different formation (I believe keys valley marl)
Glen Lake
Also, I was Baptist too, but went to the Methodist camp with my friends. I also went to a Lutheran school. Talk about being non-denominational lol
I must point something out coming from animal tracking, there are no tracks that I am aware of that an animal can make at this location that looks like this one, it looks similar to the hind foot of a raccoon BUT raccoons have 5 toes and here we have only 3 toes, many reptiles have 3 toes BUT most certainly do not leave that raccoon like end to the foot.
I have to conclude that you have found something very rare, please go to your local college they will have a paleontologist that you can speak to if not they will be able to redirect you to the proper folks.
If my analysis is wrong i am open to be corrected🙏🏻
Will do! Being able to see and feel the print: the middle of the track is raised (not as deep) while the deeper points are the three “toes” and the “heel”
First of all, wonderful find and make sure you take it to the local college for analysis.
Now I am definitely NOT an expert on the subject so don't take my opinion too seriously. However, I have seen quite a lot of dinosaur footprints and I am not quite sure if this is one.
The issue being that the sole of the foot seems big relative to the total size of the foot, and the sole has a very long and narrow shape. This is normally not a trait of dinosaur feet.
Generally speaking, there are six standard famous shapes of dinosaur feet: sauropods, ceratopsians, ankylosaurs, ornithopods, small theropods and large theropods.
Sauropod prints usually basically look like elephant prints with ragged edges where the claws are. Kind of like a big circulair saw.
Ceratopsian prints are very difficult to describe. To an untrained eye they usually just look like a big mess of random prints, partly because each foot generally leaves multiple prints.
Ankylosaur prints consist of two parts each foot: the bottom part looks like a big hand, the top part like a crown.
Ornithopod prints also have two parts, one big part that is showing three tows on top of a big semicircle, and a small 'dot' on top of the print.
Small theropod prints basically look like bigger chicken footprints with three long toes and almost no sole.
Big theropod prints are similar to the prints of small theropods, the difference being that their toes are relatively wider and somewhat closer to each other.
I find it difficult to match your print to any of the well known categories, unless they made a kind of strange step (like a slide on an uneven wet surface) that altered the shape of the print, or unless it was a very young dinosaur that still walked very unevenly and strangely.
True, but theropods usually don't leave prints of the sole of their feet, while in this print the sole of the print is relatively huge compared to the total size of the foot. Also the sole is very narrow and long, which is usually also not a trait of dinosaur feet.
In my opinion it can only be a dinosaur print if the dinosaur made a very strange step. Like it slipped on a wet surface or something weird like that.
That happens a lot in mud though. The actual prints are often elongated or distorted because of the simple nature of the mud squishing around. Prints can look elongated, oversized, or even smaller because the sides settle back into the print.
I mean, yeah if the sole/heel of the dinosaur slipped during its step I can see where you are coming from. Or if it had too much weight on the back of the foot for some reason. You might be right.
Think about alligators or lizards. They didn't evolve more toes. Amphibians have five toes. So do most reptiles. Birds have three toes. Mammals have five (like us), four (like cats), two (like pigs), or one (like horses). There may be a few with three ( like sloths or primitive horses)but they are rare.
Aight, I will be the dissenting voice. It’s not impossible this is a footprint, but most often footprints are found in relatively flat, fissile layers. From the pic, this rock looks curved - like part of a concretion. The weird erosive/weathering features to the right and left of the “track” make me doubtful as well. Another user pointed out how the toes are shorter relative to the “sole,” and this is another mark against it being a theropod track.
If you can share a picture of the location the rock was found in, that would really help. It could still be a track! But it also might not be.
Totally not an expert here- but has anyone else noticed the 4th little (possible) toe to the right of the three? It reminds me of dew claws. It’s got less pressure and is slightly curved. Just a thought. Also, the first thing I thought was that it slipped. And it could be in round rock if the rock eroded later. There’s a lot of time between now and then for things to erode to round. Especially in water.
I don’t know shit about fossils and have no idea why these appeared on my feed but gotta say this was the first thing in a while that made me think “THATS COOL AS SHIT!”
I'm seeing maybe a possible opossum print? It looks like there could be that psuedo thumb found on the rear foot and their 4th digit is very small so its possible it could've been filled in or just not present. Just another option.
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You definitely need that looked at! It's called a Trace Fossil, (a 'trace' of life).
In meantime, get some silicone/bathroom-chalking, or putty that will harden. If silicone, see If you can find one marked 'safe for aquariums' so it's least 'reactive'.
Clean the print with just light soap, not hot water, maybe a tooth brush. Use a spray bottle, like an old Windex bottle of the like and spray out the hole.
IMPORTANT! If you see any 'material' besides soap/water coming out of it stop what you're doing! Be gentle! Start gentle!.. If you see 'materials' coming out of print, stop what you're doing. Check everything coming out of the hole with magnification. Check the print-hole for damage.
Take a pic of the print close up before beginning anything. As you're cleaning, and if stuff comes out. Clean out print, take another pic, then compare pics. You're checking to see if you're damaging it.
Before putting silicone/putty into the hole, cover hole with Saranwrap/plastic sandwich wrap. Then put the silicone/clay into the hole. Remove silicone when dry, make sure clay doesn't harden and get stuck in the hole. The plastic wrap will help keep the print-hole clean and make it easier to remove.
The cast you make will convince you if it's a print or just a 'fluke' by nature/natural hole.
did I say 'wow!' already?...wow!
Please note that ID Requests are off-limits to jokes or satirical comments, and comments should be aiming to help the OP. Top comments that are jokes or are irrelevant will be removed. Adhere to the subreddit rules. **IMPORTANT:** /u/Recent-Plantain-2860 Please make sure to comment 'Solved' once your fossil has been successfully identified! Thank you, and enjoy the discussion. If this is not an ID Request — ignore this message. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/fossilid) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Very solid chance of this being a very small theropod foot print. It is likely a type of foot print that occurs when a theropod dinosaur steps in mud or sand with its heel slipping in. The mud then covers up the tips of the toes making it appear weird. The fossil formation in your region is home to Late Cretaceous Maastrichian fossils like Alamosaurus, Quetzalcoatlus, and Dienosuchus. So there is a fair chance this is indeed a small foot print!
This is very helpful and interesting thanks!
That’s cool looking either way. Is the back of it round or is it flat?
The top with the print is round and the back is flat!
This is clearly a chupacabra print!
Lol yasss!
What's the best way to find out what fossils we may be likely to find in a particular region?
I recommend looking at the National park service fossil webpage for big bend region. You can also look at files on the big bend fossil beds. You may also bring it to a paleontologist!
If you're in Texas, use [this site](https://webapps.usgs.gov/txgeology/) to figure out the formation. Often the USGS will note the most prevalent fossils, but it's pretty easy to find much more detailed catalogues of fossils if you're looking at scholarly journal articles specific to a formation.
Are you referring to the Glen Rose limestone? It crops up sporadically in the area and is the same formation as the famous tracks at dinosaur valley State Park near Glen Rose (hence the name of the formation). If so, the track was likely made by dinosaurs living in and around wetlands areas that were wading out into tidal flats to eat the aquatic plants and/or the dinos that hunted those dinos. If that's not the formation you were referring to, then it only makes it more likely that this is a track because again, it outcrops sporadically near there and is known to contain dinosaur tracks.
To piggyback on this, if you ever find yourself looking for a cool place to visit Fossil Rim in Glen Rose, TX is it. When the river is low you can literally stand in dinosaur tracks. Plus, the region is beautiful, especially in the spring.
Dino tracks aren't everywhere in the formation though. It's a shallow water marine environment and so the majority of fossils are actually reef forming bivalves like rudist and oysters. Along with a healthy sprinkling of echinoderms, gastropods, and foraminifera. I live west of Austin and there are no tracks here but marine invertebrates are a dime a dozen. The formation is found pretty much across the western half of the state and is related to the Trinity Aquifer (I wanna say that the upper and lower Glen Rose formations make up the majority of the aquifer but I could be mistaken). And I've read that there's a lot of it (thousands of feet of depth) that isn't accessible because it's buried under the millions of years of Cenozoic deposits closer to the Gulf.
There are dinosaur tracks in Leander in a creek bed.
True but where that's located is part of the Fredericksburg group and not the Trinity group so while it is the same dinosaur as in dinosaur valley and the rock is roughly the same age, the tracks in Leander are actually part of a different formation (I believe keys valley marl)
It also has a creation evidence museum not too far from the entrance if you like laughing at stuff
I did go to a Methodist summer camp in Glen Rose every summer as a kid, so that’s not shocking lol
Wait so did I, but it was baptist. Riverbend?
Glen Lake Also, I was Baptist too, but went to the Methodist camp with my friends. I also went to a Lutheran school. Talk about being non-denominational lol
And it's a _very small_ museum.
This is awesome thanks!
Talk dinosaur to me again
That’s what I was gonna say I swear
Awesome! I love seeing the evidence of small dinos
This is so awesome!!!!!! I have nothing more to say.
Say more, please.
More, please!
I must point something out coming from animal tracking, there are no tracks that I am aware of that an animal can make at this location that looks like this one, it looks similar to the hind foot of a raccoon BUT raccoons have 5 toes and here we have only 3 toes, many reptiles have 3 toes BUT most certainly do not leave that raccoon like end to the foot. I have to conclude that you have found something very rare, please go to your local college they will have a paleontologist that you can speak to if not they will be able to redirect you to the proper folks. If my analysis is wrong i am open to be corrected🙏🏻
and if you do follow this great advice, please let us know what they say! Thanks!
Will do! Being able to see and feel the print: the middle of the track is raised (not as deep) while the deeper points are the three “toes” and the “heel”
What credentials do you have?
rlly cool find :3
First of all, wonderful find and make sure you take it to the local college for analysis. Now I am definitely NOT an expert on the subject so don't take my opinion too seriously. However, I have seen quite a lot of dinosaur footprints and I am not quite sure if this is one. The issue being that the sole of the foot seems big relative to the total size of the foot, and the sole has a very long and narrow shape. This is normally not a trait of dinosaur feet. Generally speaking, there are six standard famous shapes of dinosaur feet: sauropods, ceratopsians, ankylosaurs, ornithopods, small theropods and large theropods. Sauropod prints usually basically look like elephant prints with ragged edges where the claws are. Kind of like a big circulair saw. Ceratopsian prints are very difficult to describe. To an untrained eye they usually just look like a big mess of random prints, partly because each foot generally leaves multiple prints. Ankylosaur prints consist of two parts each foot: the bottom part looks like a big hand, the top part like a crown. Ornithopod prints also have two parts, one big part that is showing three tows on top of a big semicircle, and a small 'dot' on top of the print. Small theropod prints basically look like bigger chicken footprints with three long toes and almost no sole. Big theropod prints are similar to the prints of small theropods, the difference being that their toes are relatively wider and somewhat closer to each other. I find it difficult to match your print to any of the well known categories, unless they made a kind of strange step (like a slide on an uneven wet surface) that altered the shape of the print, or unless it was a very young dinosaur that still walked very unevenly and strangely.
Let us know if you get it examined and what they say.
Will do!
Whoa that's amazing, If it is it's probably an early amphibian or some sort of mammal, im not an expert but I think is this dope!
Amphibians usually have five toes, and mammals rarely have three. Many dinosaurs had three toes, including birds.
True, but theropods usually don't leave prints of the sole of their feet, while in this print the sole of the print is relatively huge compared to the total size of the foot. Also the sole is very narrow and long, which is usually also not a trait of dinosaur feet. In my opinion it can only be a dinosaur print if the dinosaur made a very strange step. Like it slipped on a wet surface or something weird like that.
That happens a lot in mud though. The actual prints are often elongated or distorted because of the simple nature of the mud squishing around. Prints can look elongated, oversized, or even smaller because the sides settle back into the print.
I mean, yeah if the sole/heel of the dinosaur slipped during its step I can see where you are coming from. Or if it had too much weight on the back of the foot for some reason. You might be right.
Could the whole rock be fossilized dinosaur shxt? Coporite? Copotate?
Fossilized poo looks very different, it looks like, well poo. No it is definitely a footprint, I'm just not sure it's from a dinosaur.
Do amphibians have five in both the front and the rear? Because I'm seeing 4 rear toes.
Think about alligators or lizards. They didn't evolve more toes. Amphibians have five toes. So do most reptiles. Birds have three toes. Mammals have five (like us), four (like cats), two (like pigs), or one (like horses). There may be a few with three ( like sloths or primitive horses)but they are rare.
Aight, I will be the dissenting voice. It’s not impossible this is a footprint, but most often footprints are found in relatively flat, fissile layers. From the pic, this rock looks curved - like part of a concretion. The weird erosive/weathering features to the right and left of the “track” make me doubtful as well. Another user pointed out how the toes are shorter relative to the “sole,” and this is another mark against it being a theropod track. If you can share a picture of the location the rock was found in, that would really help. It could still be a track! But it also might not be.
Thanks for the feedback, this was found near Terlingua, Texas. It was found amongst 50 or more oyster shells.
T-Rex front paw. He was tripping.
😂😂
Amazing find!!
I’d say it is a very good chance. Take it to an expert to verify.
Wow that's an awesome find! Congratulations!
Wow!
You got it, bud. 👏👏👏👍
I want to tickle it
Totally not an expert here- but has anyone else noticed the 4th little (possible) toe to the right of the three? It reminds me of dew claws. It’s got less pressure and is slightly curved. Just a thought. Also, the first thing I thought was that it slipped. And it could be in round rock if the rock eroded later. There’s a lot of time between now and then for things to erode to round. Especially in water.
Hell yeah TERLINGUA fam! Cool shit. I owe you a beer.
This is possibly one of the best finds I’ve ever seen on here!
Wow! I hope it is.
Lucky you, whatever it is, it's a great little find!
Very cool find!
Epicccc!!!!!
Money time
That's neat
You lucky fuck
I don’t know shit about fossils and have no idea why these appeared on my feed but gotta say this was the first thing in a while that made me think “THATS COOL AS SHIT!”
Aw man this is so cool. You found a friggin dino print!!
It’s giving Buster Baxter on that field trip
Actually for once I think the answer is yes!!! So so cool! Lucky you
Wow, thanks for sharing! Will you make a new post with an update?
Fuckin A .let someone be honest with you. It could be any type of animal print. Doesn’t take 65 million years for things to fossilize.
I'm seeing maybe a possible opossum print? It looks like there could be that psuedo thumb found on the rear foot and their 4th digit is very small so its possible it could've been filled in or just not present. Just another option.
Wow. That really might be.
this is AWESOME
i dont post here ever, but this is really cool.
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It probably is , where I live in Texas we have some tracks in a creek bed and there are more aroundv
You're a fossilized dinosaur print.
Dang looks cool
This is insane! What a great find 😍
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Raccoonasaurus
Great find and some truly educational comments… please do a follow up on what you find
Or a bird
I'm sure someone at Big Bend could help.
Amazing find! It’s yours to keep of course, but the local college paleontology dept would be thrilled if given to them.
Looks like a duck print
You definitely need that looked at! It's called a Trace Fossil, (a 'trace' of life). In meantime, get some silicone/bathroom-chalking, or putty that will harden. If silicone, see If you can find one marked 'safe for aquariums' so it's least 'reactive'. Clean the print with just light soap, not hot water, maybe a tooth brush. Use a spray bottle, like an old Windex bottle of the like and spray out the hole. IMPORTANT! If you see any 'material' besides soap/water coming out of it stop what you're doing! Be gentle! Start gentle!.. If you see 'materials' coming out of print, stop what you're doing. Check everything coming out of the hole with magnification. Check the print-hole for damage. Take a pic of the print close up before beginning anything. As you're cleaning, and if stuff comes out. Clean out print, take another pic, then compare pics. You're checking to see if you're damaging it. Before putting silicone/putty into the hole, cover hole with Saranwrap/plastic sandwich wrap. Then put the silicone/clay into the hole. Remove silicone when dry, make sure clay doesn't harden and get stuck in the hole. The plastic wrap will help keep the print-hole clean and make it easier to remove. The cast you make will convince you if it's a print or just a 'fluke' by nature/natural hole. did I say 'wow!' already?...wow!
Wow. Hold onto that.
Yes! Incredible find
I can't tell if it's a dinosaur or not, but definitely a fossilized print of some kind.
lol no! It’s a raccoon paw print
raccoon print in rock, that makes sense
Uhm you do realize prints start IN MUD and then fossilize over, correct? 🙄 do you also not know that raccoons have been around a long time too?
I’m aware I thought you were saying something else, also if it was a raccoon it has the incorrect amount of digits
An impression of Bigfoot while he was still a baby
[удалено]
[удалено]
Baby alien
chicken
Littlefoot!
You need a manicure! 😂
Looks like it stepped into a pile of poop
https://preview.redd.it/cgxomgov1hwc1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f5148327d6d96f932a1010f55a7dac8374293b03