These were no mean feet.
Scientists put their “stamp” on prehistory after discovering a massive dinosaur footprint in Mongolia said to have belonged to one of the largest two-legged animals ever to roam the Earth.
The colossal clomp crater discovered during an expedition to the Gobi Desert conducted over the summer by Okayama University of Science (OUS) and the Institute of Paleontology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Phys.org reported.
The imprint of the titanic trotter was measured a whopping three feet across, reportedly making it one of the largest hadrosaurid (a type of herbivorous bipedal dinosaur) prints ever discovered.
Researchers identified its owner as the giant Saurolophus, a “Mongolian giant” that measured 50 feet from nose to tail — 10 feet longer than the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
In fact, both lived during the late Cretaceous period with this podiatrically-endowed dino existing between 66 million and 72 million years ago.
The prehistoric Sasquatch’s walk outline was found in a well-known repository for dinosaur prints, including a continuous trackway of 13 fossilized footprints that spanned nearly 80 feet.
By retracing these steps, scientists can analyze the “posture, walking style, speed, and group behavior — details that cannot be inferred from skeletal fossils,” expedition leader Dr. Shiobu Ishigaki explained during an August press conference.
He added that the team’s “next goal is to uncover the full skeleton of the large Saurolophus responsible for these footprints.”
Researchers believe that these remains could potentially rival the largest known hadrosaurid fossil ever, which belonged to a Shantungosaurus found in Shandong Province, China.
Meanwhile, a species of Australian sauropod currently boasts the biggest feet in history at 5.5-foot-across — large enough to fit an entire person inside.
