Brisbane dinosaur fossil is Australia’s oldest

Professor Bruce Runnegar with the fossil he found almost 70 years ago.
Photo Credit: The University of Queensland

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary

• Main Discovery: University of Queensland researchers confirmed that a dinosaur footprint fossil discovered in Brisbane is Australia's oldest, dating back to the Late Triassic period, approximately 230 million years ago.
• Methodology: Scientists analyzed an 18.5-centimetre sandstone footprint originally collected in 1958 from Petrie's Quarry. Researchers employed modern 3D reconstruction and mapping software to analyze the trace fossil, allowing for the formal documentation and identification of the track-maker.
• Key Data: The fossil dates to 230 million years ago and measures 18.5 centimetres in length. The track-maker was estimated to stand 75 to 80 centimetres tall at the hip and weigh approximately 140 kilograms.
• Significance: This discovery represents the only dinosaur fossil ever found in an Australian capital city and pushes back the known presence of dinosaurs in Australia to an earlier date than previously recognized.
• Future Application: The fossil is now housed at the Queensland Museum to facilitate ongoing research and serve as a reference for identifying similar Triassic-era trace fossils in the region.
• Branch of Science: Paleontology
• Additional Detail: The footprint was attributed to a small, bipedal early sauropodomorph, a primitive relative of later long-necked dinosaurs, and was preserved in sandstone used for Brisbane's construction.

Dr Anthony Romilio used software to recreate a cast of what the dinosaur footprint would have looked like.
Photo Credit: The University of Queensland

University of Queensland research has confirmed Brisbane’s only dinosaur fossil is Australia’s oldest, dating back to the earliest part of the Late Triassic period 230 million years ago. 

The 18.5-centimeter footprint (pictured below) was discovered by a teenager at Petrie’s Quarry at Albion in 1958 but remained unstudied for more than 60 years. 

Dr Anthony Romilio from UQ’s Dinosaur Lab said the footprint set in stone proved dinosaurs were present in Australia a lot earlier than previously recognized. 

“This is the only dinosaur fossil to be found in an Australia capital city and shows how globally significant discoveries can remain hidden in plain sight,” Dr Romilio said. 

“Subsequent urban development has made the original site inaccessible, leaving this footprint as the only surviving dinosaur evidence from the area. 

“It’s likely the dinosaur was walking through or alongside a waterway when it left the footprint before it was then preserved in sandstone, which was cut millions of years later to construct buildings across Brisbane. 

“Without the foresight to preserve this material, Brisbane’s dinosaur history would still be completely unknown.” 

The footprint was made by a small, two-legged dinosaur, likely an early sauropodomorph, which is a primitive relative of later long‑necked dinosaurs. 

Dr Romilio said, “based on its size, the animal stood roughly 75 to 80 centimeters tall at the hip and weighed about 140 kilograms.” 

Study co-author and UQ Honorary Professor Bruce Runnegar was the teenager who collected the fossil during a visit to the quarry with school friends and has kept it since. 

“At the time, we suspected the marks might be dinosaur tracks, but we couldn’t have imagined their national significance,” Professor Runnegar said. 

Professor Runnegar went on to study for a Bachelor of Science and PhD at UQ and then to teach paleontology at the University of New England at Armidale and University of California, Los Angeles, where he showed the Brisbane fossil to students. 

“It was a great example of a special kind of trace fossil because the footprint was made in sediment by a heavy animal,” he said. 

“When I saw Dr Romilio’s ability to reconstruct, analyze and map dinosaur footprints, I decided to reach out to have the fossil formally documented. 

“More than 60 years after we found it, it’s extraordinary to see it recognized as Australia’s oldest dinosaur fossil.” 

The fossil is now housed at the Queensland Museum where it will be available for ongoing research. 

Published in journal: Alcheringa

Title: Earliest Australian dinosaur: ichnofossils from the Carnian Aspley Formation of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Authors: Anthony Romilio, and Bruce Runnegar

Source/Credit: University of Queensland

Reference Number: pal020226_01

Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Contact Us