Four-year-old girl turns paleontologist, discovers 220-million-year-old dinosaur footprint

It was around 66 million years back that a giant asteroid hit the earth, and resulted in the extinction of dinosaurs. After millions of years, humans who mastered paleontology successfully discovered several dinosaur fossils and learned several facts about these giants who once roamed the blue planet like a king. And now, a four-year-old girl who was walking with her dad on a beach in south Wales has discovered a dinosaur footprint.

Four-year-old girl turns paleontologist

According to a report published in the Irish Times, Lily Wilder is the girl who discovered the dinosaur footprint etched into stone. Richard Wilder, Lily's father took a photo of the footprint, initially thinking it was too good to be true. But soon, experts confirmed it was a real footprint from the ancient days.

Scientists who conducted an initial analysis on the footprint revealed that it is one of the best-preserved examples from anywhere in the United Kingdom. The footprint will be kept at the National Museum in Cardiff.

"We were thrilled to find out it really was a dinosaur footprint, and I am happy that it will be taken to the national museum where it can be enjoyed and studied for generations," said Sally Winkler, Lily's mother. 

Details of the discovered footprint

Even though an initial analysis has been made, researchers are still unclear about the dinosaur species which made the mark on the stone. According to researchers, the footprint is 3.9 inches long, and the creature might be most probably 30 inches tall. Researchers believe that this creature was slender, walked on two legs, and could have eaten small animals and insects.  

"This fossilized dinosaur footprint from 220 million years ago is one of the best-preserved examples from anywhere in the UK and will really aid paleontologists to get a better idea about how these early dinosaurs walked. Its acquisition by the museum is mainly thanks to Lily and her family who first spotted it," said Cindy Howells, Palaeontology Curator at the National Museum of Wales, in a recent statement.