MEDIA RELEASE from GNS Science
7 November 2009
Dinosaur Footprints Discovered In The South Island
Scientists have found 70 million-year-old dinosaur footprints in northwest Nelson.
They are the first dinosaur footprints to be recognised in New Zealand and the first evidence of dinosaurs in the South
Island. They were discovered by geologist Greg Browne of GNS Science.
Dr Browne found the footprints while investigating the properties of the rock and sediment formations in the northwest
Nelson region.
There are six locations over an area about 10km in length where footprints appear. At one location there are up to 20
footprints.
Dr Browne carefully considered all the possible geological and biological explanations for the features in the rock and
was able to rule them out one-by-one. His investigation included comparisons with dinosaur footprints in similar aged
rocks in other parts of the world.
He concluded that the most plausible explanation was the markings were made by sauropods - large herbivorous dinosaurs
with long necks and tails and pillar-like legs.
The footprints were made in beach sands and were probably quickly covered and preserved by mud from subsequent tides.
“What makes this discovery special is the unique preservation of the footprints in an environment where they could
easily have been destroyed by waves, tides, or wind,” Dr Browne said.
The depressions are roughly circular in plan view, with the largest about 60cm in diameter. Most are smaller – typically
between 10 and 20cm in diameter and were probably formed by dinosaurs between 2m and 6m in length and weighing several
tonnes.
While paleontologists know that dinosaurs were present in ancient New Zealand, which they refer to as Zealandia, the
record of their presence is very sketchy.
Dinosaur bones, mostly vertebrae, have been found at only three locations – northern Hawke’s Bay, Port Waikato, and the
Chatham Islands.
Dr Browne said the footprints added a considerable amount of information about how dinosaurs moved, how fast they moved,
how big they were as well as how soft the sediment was when they moved through the area.
"This discovery opens the way for further study on a range of dinosaur-related issues in New Zealand."
As with much of New Zealand, northwest Nelson was largely submerged under the sea between 70 and 20 million years ago
and the footprints would have been covered by hundreds of metres of marine sediments.
Then with the development of the ‘modern plate boundary’, New Zealand was uplifted and northwest Nelson emerged from the
sea.
During the past 20 million years, the overlying sedimentary rock has been eroded away to expose the footprints again.
Dr Browne’s discovery will be published in the December issue of the New Zealand Journal of Geology & Geophysics.
END