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- LA PAZ, Bolivia (Reuters) - The world's largest group of dinosaur footprints
have been discovered at a site near the Bolivian town of Sucre, a Swiss
paleontologist who has been studying the area said, local media reported
Saturday. Footprints up to 3 feet long were found in the area, which includes
prints of several dinosaur species, making it one of the rarest finds in
the world. ``There is no comparable site in the world,'' said Swiss paleontologist
Christian Meyer, according to local media. Meyer's team has been studying
the site for the last two months, after Bolivian scientists found it two
years ago, and recently concluded it is the largest site known to exist
in the world. The site covers an area of 269,100 square feet , Meyer said,
emphasizing that nowhere else on earth is there an area that large with
dinosaur footprints. He called on authorities to protect the site. The
area is situated in a limestone quarry, with the prints embedded in the
mountainside, at inclines of up to 70 degrees. The prints are whole and
look like the dinosaurs might have been walking in a mud lake. Meyer warned
that the prints could disappear altogether within 20 years because of rain
and wind if efforts are not made to protect them from erosion and destruction.
Limestone mining nearby makes the area even more precarious. The site is
435 miles southeast of La Paz at an altitude of 9,186 feet. The large size
of the area has meant several different species have been identified including
tyrannosaurus, and other giant dinosaurs up to 82 feet high. Apart from
dinosaur bones, signs of fish life, crocodiles and turtles also have been
found, supporting the theory that the valley was a large lake where the
dinosaurs came to bathe, Meyer said.
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