本文轉(zhuǎn)自：中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)

恐龍足跡化石作為“歷史的腳印”，一直受到人們的重視。

日前，河北省自然資源廳發(fā)布古生物化石調(diào)查成果，經(jīng)過(guò)調(diào)查評(píng)價(jià)，2020年4月，河北地質(zhì)調(diào)查人員在張家口宣化發(fā)現(xiàn)的大型恐龍足跡化石群，涉及面積約9100平米，共有恐龍足跡4300多個(gè)，初步確定這些足跡來(lái)自4種恐龍。

圖源：新華網(wǎng)

More than 4,300 dinosaur footprints have been discovered in Zhangjiakou, North China's Hebei province, the most such markings found in one spot in the country, according to the Department of Natural Resources of Hebei, which recently disclosed related survey results.

這處恐龍足跡化石點(diǎn)位于宣化區(qū)的一處山坡上。在堅(jiān)硬的巖石上，分布著密密麻麻的恐龍足跡。這些足跡有的近似圓形，有的則是類(lèi)似獸爪的形狀，保存得十分清晰。

圖源：新華網(wǎng)

地質(zhì)調(diào)查人員對(duì)現(xiàn)場(chǎng)的地質(zhì)年代測(cè)定結(jié)果顯示，這些恐龍足跡所在的巖石層距今有1.5億年了。通過(guò)專(zhuān)家對(duì)痕跡的辨認(rèn)和分類(lèi)探查，確定共有恐龍足跡4屬4種，并新發(fā)現(xiàn)恐龍足跡種屬1例。

The footprints are located on fine, pebbly sandstone that dates back 150 million years and was covered by thick volcanic ash, providing good conditions for the preservation of the footprints.

據(jù)專(zhuān)家介紹，這個(gè)層面它屬于侏羅紀(jì)到白堊紀(jì)之交的時(shí)代。在一億多年以前這里曾經(jīng)有大片的森林和水源，所以有大量的植食性和肉食性恐龍?jiān)谶@里聚集。

"It can be inferred that the footprints belong to an era around the Jurassic and the Cretaceous, when there were large forests and water sources here," said Sun Xiao, a chief engineer at the Regional Geological Survey Institute affiliated with Hebei Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources Exploration, quoted by Hebei Daily. Jurassic n. 侏羅紀(jì)時(shí)代 Cretaceous n. 白堊紀(jì)時(shí)代

圖源：央視新聞截圖

通過(guò)這些腳印，科學(xué)家可以確定恐龍是如何行走的，計(jì)算它們的長(zhǎng)度、重量和大小，甚至估計(jì)它們的行走速度。從現(xiàn)場(chǎng)足跡來(lái)推斷，專(zhuān)家表示植食性恐龍?bào)w長(zhǎng)可達(dá)15米以上，肉食性恐龍?bào)w長(zhǎng)可達(dá)4到5米。

From the footprints, scientists can determine how dinosaurs walked, calculate their length, weight and size, and even estimate their walking speed.

一名工人在測(cè)量在河北張家口發(fā)現(xiàn)的恐龍腳印

這些完好的恐龍足跡為我們了解恐龍的生活方式提供了精彩的視角，對(duì)于研究古生物群落的關(guān)聯(lián)性等科學(xué)問(wèn)題具有極其重要的價(jià)值。

"Dinosaur bones become fossils after their death, while dinosaur footprints are left from when they were alive, which provide wonderful insights into how dinosaurs lived. They can provide a lot of information about their behavior, as well as information on paleogeography and paleoenvironment. Therefore, dinosaur footprints play an irreplaceable role," said Li Jianjun, a researcher from the Beijing Museum of Natural History. paleogeography n. 古地理學(xué) paleoenvironment n. 古環(huán)境 paleo- 前綴，表示“古；舊”之義

記者：張余