A 125-million-year-old commute
In the Maestrazgo region of Teruel, Spain, vast rock faces reveal thousands of fossilized dinosaur footprints, or ichnites. These sites, part of the Maestrazgo UNESCO Global Geopark, document a busy ecosystem from the Early Cretaceous period, roughly 125 million years ago. During this time, the area was a large, muddy coastal plain bordering the ancient Tethys Sea. Dinosaurs traversing these muddy flats left behind tracks that were baked by the sun, buried by sediment, and eventually fossilized into stone. Tectonic forces later tilted these layers, and erosion has now exposed them like giant stone canvases.
Seven of the most significant tracksites have been declared Assets of Cultural Interest by the Spanish government. Important localities open to the public include sites near the towns of Galve, Miravete de la Sierra, and Ababuj. The tracks are primarily found within geological layers like the Villar del Arzobispo Formation and the Camarillas Formation. In total, the geopark contains 76 cataloged paleontological sites. The region's paleontological importance is managed and studied by organizations like the Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinópolis.
The dinosaur parade
The trackways at Maestrazgo reveal a diverse dinosaur population. Three main types of dinosaurs left their marks:
Sauropods: These massive, long-necked herbivores were abundant. At sites like Las Cerradicas, six parallel trackways of small sauropods, possibly titanosauriforms, show them moving together in a herd. This gregarious behavior is a finding from the region. The hind footprints of these particular sauropods measure between nine and twelve inches long. The tracks are typically wide-gauged, meaning there is a large gap between the left and right prints, consistent with the wide-bodied stance of titanosaurs.
Theropods: Carnivorous, bipedal dinosaurs also roamed this ancient coastline. Their tracks are easily identified by their three-toed shape. Tracks from medium to large theropods have been identified at sites such as Los Corrales del Pelejón. One theropod track recovered from the Miravete 2 site is now on display at the Dinópolis museum in Teruel.
Ornithopods: These bipedal herbivores, which include dinosaurs like Iguanodon, were the most common track-makers at many of the Lower Cretaceous sites in Maestrazgo. Their footprints are also tridactyl (three-toed), but often broader and more rounded than those of theropods. Stegosaur tracks, though rare, have also been found. One site contains the holotype (the specific specimen that defines a species) for the stegosaur ichnogenus Deltapodus ibericus.