Scientists have uncovered the largest dinosaur footprints ever recorded, preserved along a remote stretch of coastline in Western Australia. The massive tracks, dating back around 130 million years to the Early Cretaceous period, are so large that a grown adult could stand inside a single footprint.
The discovery comes from the Dampier Peninsula’s Broome Sandstone formation, an intertidal fossil site that has emerged as one of the most significant dinosaur track records anywhere in the world. Researchers say the site not only reveals extraordinary dinosaur sizes but also provides rare insight into species that left no skeletal remains behind.
Fossil Tracksites Reveal Unmatched Dinosaur Diversity
The findings are based on more than a decade of fieldwork along a 25-kilometre stretch of coastline between Yanijarri, Walmadany and Kardilakan–Jajal Buru. Scientists documented 48 separate tracksites after surveying the area for over 400 hours using on-site measurements, sediment analysis and 3D photogrammetry.
From thousands of footprints, researchers identified at least 150 well-preserved tracks representing 21 distinct dinosaur types. These include theropods, sauropods, ornithopods and armored thyreophorans. Several newly identified track species were formally named, while others could not yet be classified due to incomplete impressions.
One of the most striking discoveries is a sauropod footprint measuring up to 1.7 metres in length, the largest dinosaur track ever documented. The assemblage also includes the first confirmed stegosaur tracks found in Australia, indicating that armored dinosaurs once roamed the continent in far greater diversity than skeletal fossils alone suggest.
Indigenous Stewardship Played Key Role in Protecting the Site
Beyond its scientific value, the fossil landscape holds deep cultural importance for the Goolarabooloo Traditional Custodians. Many of the tracksites form part of ancient songlines that encode ecological, ceremonial and historical knowledge passed down for generations.
The area gained international attention during opposition to a proposed liquefied natural gas project at James Price Point in the late 2000s. Indigenous leaders called for scientific assessments to demonstrate the site’s significance, ultimately leading to its inclusion on Australia’s National Heritage List in 2011. The fossil evidence became central to halting the $40-billion development.
All research at the site has since been conducted under strict cultural protocols, with access controlled by local custodians. Scientists note that several track patterns align closely with figures described in Indigenous stories, reinforcing the connection between cultural knowledge and geological history.
Dinosaur Tracks Suggest Gondwana Lineages Survived Longer
Analysis of the footprints suggests that several dinosaur groups thought to have declined elsewhere after the Jurassic period continued to thrive in Gondwana, the southern supercontinent that included Australia, South America and Africa.
The persistence of large theropods and stegosaurs contrasts with patterns seen in northern continents, where major faunal turnover occurred at the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary. Comparisons with fossil track records from Argentina and South Africa support the idea that extinction pressures unfolded differently in the southern hemisphere.
Researchers say the Dampier Peninsula tracks now represent Australia’s most complete record of Early Cretaceous dinosaurs. While body fossils from this era remain scarce, the footprints reveal a rich and complex ecosystem that once existed along ancient river deltas and floodplains.
Scientists warn that preserving the site remains a challenge, as erosion, rising seas and human activity threaten exposed track surfaces. Even so, the discovery stands as one of the most important dinosaur finds of the century, reshaping understanding of prehistoric life on Earth and highlighting the vital role of Indigenous stewardship in protecting global heritage.