The Department of Mineral Resources confirmed that dinosaur footprints discovered in Udon Thani date back around 120 million years, marking the province’s first reported discovery of prehistoric tracks of this kind.
The discovery began when Thai tourist Pichai Prathetsena photographed an impression on a rock inside Phu Hin Chom That–Phu Phrabat National Park. He shared the image in the Facebook group นี่ตัวอะไร (What Animal Is This?) on Saturday, October 18, asking members whether it could be a dinosaur footprint.
Several social media users agreed with his suggestion and called for officials to investigate the marks.
Park rangers visited the site on October 19 to measure the impressions and gather information. Their initial assessment suggested the tracks could have been left by a carnivorous dinosaur more than 130 million years ago.
Today, October 20, the Department of Mineral Resources announced on its official Facebook page that the impressions were genuine dinosaur footprints.
According to the department, six footprints form a single trackway preserved in sandstone belonging to the Phu Phan Formation, which dates to the Early Cretaceous period. Each footprint has three toes with pointed tips and measures approximately 29 centimetres long and 26 centimetres wide.
Based on the measurements, the department estimated that the dinosaur stood about 1.42 metres tall at the hip and measured approximately 6.3 metres in body length.
The estimated dimensions are similar to those of Siamotyrannus isanensis, a theropod dinosaur discovered in Thailand from the same geological period. Theropods walked on two hind legs and were carnivorous.
The department’s measurements differ from those recorded during the initial site inspection. Rangers reported four impressions measuring around 34 centimetres by 32 centimetres and estimated that the animal could have been seven to eight metres long.
The Department of Mineral Resources has asked the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and the Fine Arts Department to establish a protected area around the discovery site.
The agencies are acting under Section 25 of the Fossil Protection Act, enacted in 2008. The proposed protection aims to prevent visitors from damaging the footprints and reduce erosion caused by water.
Officials also plan to develop the site as a destination for education, scientific research and tourism focused on geology and palaeontology.
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The story Tourist’s photograph leads to scientific confirmation of first dinosaur track in Udon Thani as seen on Thaiger News.