A SLAB OF DINOSAUR FOOTPRINTS SOUTH DAKOTA, EARLY JURASSIC PERIOD (CIRCA 170 MILLION YEARS OLD) |

scattered with small raised prints, each three-toed and defined by slender triangular outlines, the grey solid slab with an uneven surface, mounted on a metal stand

Collection of Bill Freeman, Arizona, acquired in the 1960s to 1980s.

Excavated in the White River Badlands of South Dakota in the United States, the footprints on this slab are possibly those of a theropod dinosaur, probably a Grallator. Theropods were bipedal and included tyrannoaurous as well as the forefathers of modern-day birds. The dinosaur left its footprints in the soft mud which hardened overtime and were filled with ash or sediment. The raised footprints are produced from the separation of layers.