More than sixty fossilised dinosaur footprints have been found on a boulder at a Queensland high school.
The rock is smaller than a one-by-one metre slab. It was discovered at a mine in 2002 and gifted to Biloela State High School.
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It sat in the main office of the campus for twenty years, but new analysis has revealed it contains one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur footprints ever documented in Australia.
The slab has 66 fossilised footprints from 47 individual dinosaurs, dating from the Early Jurassic around 200 million years ago.
Image: University of Queensland
The rock went pretty much unnoticed until community members contacted a researcher at the University of Queensland, after seeing his work on dinosaur footprints at nearby Mount Morgan.
The three-toed footprints were made by Anomoepus scambus, a small plant-eating dinosaur that moved on two legs.
Skeletal fossils found overseas suggest the species had long legs, short arms and a chunky body.
Given the significance of the discovery and anticipated public interest, the boulder is set to be relocated from the school to be displayed publicly at the office of the Banana shire council.
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