Posted for Emma Marris

More than 1,000 dinosaur tracks have been found on a ¾ acre site on the Arizona-Utah border (University of Utah press release, AP story, BBC story).

The spot has been dubbed a “dinosaur dance floor” by media-savvy geologists, conjuring up visions of prehistoric partying sure to appeal to the 6-year-old in all of us. In the Palaios article on the find, Marjorie Chan and Winston Seiler of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City are a little more subdued, calling the area “A Wet Interdune Dinosaur Trampled Surface”.

The exact species that left the tracks 190 million years ago are not identified, but there were at least four. Also preserved are rare tail-drag marks.

At least, they may be tail-drag marks and tracks. The press release notes that “One anonymous reviewer of the Palaios study still believes the holes are erosion features.” Naturally, the researchers disagree, noting among other things that the tracks overlap and that they come in four different shapes.

The area is remote and arid, and was very dry even in the days of the dinos. The researchers say it is likely that it was a watering hole in the desert. So perhaps a better title for this post would have been “Midnight at the Oasis”. But with Halloween just around the corner, who can resist Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers?

More images here.

Image: geologist Winston Seiler on the ‘trample surface’ / Roger Seiler