Dinosaurs in New Zealand are known only from fragments of bone and a few vertebrae, all from New Zealand’s North Island. The announcement of the discovery of dinosaur footprints on New Zealand’s South Island is the first evidence for dinosaurs on this land mass.
The South Island discovery comes from 70-million year old sandstone and the footprints are spread over 10 km. The footprints were discovered by a geologist exploring for oil and gas. Other geological and biological explanations had to be ruled out and the impressions compared with prints from similar-aged rocks in other parts of the world before their identity as footprints could be confirmed.
The South Island footprints are similar to those of sauropods, the huge plant-eating dinosaurs of the Mesozoic Era, and their discovery raises the possibility of finding more evidence of dinosaurs in New Zealand.
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/11/09/2737189.htm
Photo credit: http://gbweekly.co.nz/2009/11/11/dinosaur-prints-confirmed-whanganui-inlet-reveals-a-new-zealand-first
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