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Dinosaurs: Four-year-old girl discovers dino footprint in Wales

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Dinosaur footprintNational Museum Wales

The footprint dates back 220 million years

Have you ever found anything interesting on your walk?

Well four-year-old Lily from Barry, in the Vale of Glamorgan, found something very unusual. She discovered a dinosaur footprint!

The footprint which has been preserved in mud, is 220 million years old.

Although they don't know what type of dinosaur left the mark, the print is 10 cm long and likely to be from a 75 cm tall dinosaur - that's roughly the same height as an average donkey.

Check out these dinosaur stories...

Sally Wilder

We were thrilled to find out it really was a dinosaur footprint and I am happy that it will be taken to the National Museum where it can be enjoyed and studied for generations.

— Sally, Lily's mum

Lily was out walking on Bendricks Bay beach with her Dad, looking for shells, when she spotted something and said: "Daddy look at this."

It turns out she'd found a dinosaur footprint. Lily's Dad Richard said: "It was almost just unbelievably realistic I just couldn't believe it was real."

The family posted a picture of the print on a fossil identification Facebook page and from there they were put in touch with an archaeologist and palaeontology curator Cindy Howells from National Museum Wales.

Cindy described the footprint as "the best specimen ever found on this beach".

More facts on the newly discovered dino-print

  • The dinosaur would have walked on its two hind (back) feet and hunted other small animals and insects

  • Special permission was needed to legally remove the footprint. The fossil has been taken to the National Museum Cardiff to be preserved

  • This print will help scientists to understand more about the structure of dinosaurs' feet

Lily's favourite dinosaur is a T-Rex

Although we don't know what dinosaur the print is from, Lily doesn't think it's from a Tyrannosaurus Rex because the print she found was "tiny" and "T-Rex's footprints are big".

This fossilised dinosaur footprint from 220 million years ago is one of the best-preserved examples from anywhere in the UK and will really aid palaeontologists to get a better idea about how these early dinosaurs walked.

— Cindy Howells, Palaeontology Curator, National Museum Wales

The area where Lily found the print is special too.

The Bendricks is a stretch of coastline between Barry and Sully in the Vale of Glamorgan. The beach is well-known for its dinosaur footprints and a site of special scientific interest.

Have you found anything interesting on your walks? Let us know in the comments below.

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