For decades, Mongolia's reputation in dinosaur research has rested largely on its spectacular Late Cretaceous fossils. Famous skeletons from the Gobi Desert have provided some of the most important discoveries in palaeontology, while older dinosaur ecosystems remained far less understood. That imbalance is beginning to change.
A tracksite from the Lower Cretaceous Shinekhudag Formation has opened a rare window into a landscape that existed roughly 120 million years ago. Instead of bones, the evidence comes in the form of footprints preserved in ancient sediments. These tracks capture moments of movement rather than death, offering a different kind of record. According to a study published in Ichnos, titled “ A dinosaur ichnofauna from the Lower Cretaceous Shinekhudag Formation, Mongolia ”, the site preserves multiple trackways left by giant sauropods and large predatory theropods, revealing a surprisingly busy dinosaur landscape in what is now central Mongolia.
