Two dinosaur tracks from Cameroon’s Koum Basin show what the area looked like 120 million years ago. CNN
New research has uncovered a fascinating link between Africa and South America, revealing that dinosaurs once roamed a prehistoric highway connecting the two continents, long before they drifted apart. Paleontologists have discovered over 260 dinosaur footprints in both Brazil and Cameroon, countries now separated by more than 3,700 miles across the Atlantic Ocean. These footprints, dating back 120 million years to the Early Cretaceous Period, suggest that these ancient creatures traversed a shared landscape when the continents were still joined.
The footprints were primarily made by three-toed theropod dinosaurs, although a few prints likely belonged to massive, four-legged sauropods or ornithischians, which had bird-like pelvic structures. These prints provide a unique glimpse into the lives of dinosaurs, showing not only their physical presence but also their behaviours and interactions with their environment.
Louis L. Jacobs, a paleontologist from Southern Methodist University in Texas, led the research. He explained that the footprints are remarkably similar in age, shape, and geological context, which points to a time when South America and Africa were still part of the supercontinent Gondwana. Jacobs described how the two continents began to separate about 140 million years ago due to tectonic shifts, eventually forming the South Atlantic Ocean. However, before this division, the landmasses provided ideal habitats for dinosaurs, with rivers and lakes running through lush basins.
One of the most intriguing aspects of this discovery is the geological formation known as a "half-graben basin." These basins, found in both northeastern Brazil and northern Cameroon, were formed by the Earth's surface pulling apart, creating valleys where rivers deposited sediments. It was within these sediments that the dinosaur footprints were preserved. According to Jacobs, these basins were fertile grounds for plant life, which in turn supported a diverse range of herbivorous dinosaurs and their carnivorous predators.
Dinosaur footprints, unlike fossils, offer a different kind of insight. While fossils tell us about the physical structure of these ancient animals, footprints provide evidence of their behaviour—how they moved, interacted, and responded to their environment. Jacobs emphasized that footprints can show us where dinosaurs walked, how fast they moved, and even what kind of social behaviours they exhibited.
Red stars on this map show the path dinosaurs used when South America and Africa were joined. CNN
The discovery also sheds light on the region's ancient climate. At the time, the area was likely a tropical rainforest with abundant vegetation. This lush environment attracted dinosaurs from both the African and South American sides of the supercontinent, leading to a mix of populations. Lawrence Flynn, another study coauthor, painted a vivid picture of the scene, describing a rich, open basin filled with plant life that herbivores would have fed on, followed closely by carnivores.
As the continents eventually drifted apart, this geographical separation would have disrupted the genetic flow between dinosaur populations, contributing to the evolutionary paths that different species would take. The tracks found in Cameroon were first discovered in the late 1980s, but it wasn't until decades later that researchers, including Jacobs and his colleague Ismar de Souza Carvalho from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, began to fully understand their significance. This study is a tribute to Martin Lockley, a paleontologist who dedicated his career to studying dinosaur footprints.
Jacobs concluded by highlighting the broader significance of these findings: "The beauty of our planet lies in its history, visible even today. The fact that Africa and South America once fit together is a reminder of a time when the world was more connected, and animals like dinosaurs moved freely across continents."
