A Tourist Spotted Strange Footprints in Thailand. They Were 120 Million Years Old, Made by a Giant Dinosaur

A Facebook photo led researchers to six ancient footprints left by a giant carnivorous dinosaur.

Pichai Prathetsena was exploring a forest stream with his family in northeastern Thailand when he noticed something peculiar in the rock beneath his feet. Three long toes seemed to emerge from the stone, forming an impression far too large for any known land animal.

Curious, he photographed the strange markings and posted them in a Thai Facebook group called “What is this creature?”

It didn’t take long to get an answer. Pichai had discovered an extremely rare dinosaur footprint.

On October 20, just three days after Prathetsena’s discovery, Thailand’s Department of Mineral Resources confirmed that the markings were 120-million-year-old dinosaur footprints. And there wasn’t just one. Investigators found six impressions forming a continuous trail left by a large, meat-eating dinosaur.

The discovery, made in the Phu Hin Chom That–Phu Phrabat National Park area of Udon Thani province, is now officially the first confirmed carnivorous dinosaur tracksite in the province.

Following in the Footsteps of a Prehistoric Predator

The footprints belong to a theropod, a group of predominantly carnivorous dinosaurs that walked on two legs and included formidable predators such as Tyrannosaurus rex. The exact species, however, cannot be determined from the footprints alone.

Each three-toed impression measures approximately 29 centimeters (11 inches) long and 26 centimeters (10 inches) wide. The tracks are preserved in fine-grained sandstone belonging to the Phu Phan Formation, which dates to the Early Cretaceous period.

Based on their dimensions and spacing, researchers estimate the animal stood approximately 1.42 meters (4.7 feet) tall at the hip and measured 6.3 meters (21 feet) from head to tail — about as long as a large delivery van, with hips nearly as high as the roof of a typical car.

×

Get smarter every day...

Stay ahead with ZME Science and subscribe.

Daily Newsletter
The science you need to know, every weekday.

Weekly Newsletter
A week in science, all in one place. Sends every Sunday.
No spam, ever. Unsubscribe anytime. Review our Privacy Policy.

Thank you! One more thing...

Please check your inbox and confirm your subscription.

The footprints were separated by about one meter (aprox. three feet), with a stride length of approximately 2.2 meters, according to Thailand’s Department of National Parks.

Local paleontologists compared the animal’s estimated size with Siamotyrannus isanensis, a large carnivorous dinosaur previously discovered in Thailand. However, the exact dinosaur species remains undeterminable.

The ancient landscape also looked rather different when the footprints were made in mud, and then some sudden event preserved them, leaving the impression locked in hard minerals over the course of millions of years. Investigators believe the area was once a waterside environment with relatively gentle flowing water.

RelatedPosts

“Hobbit” creature shows life evolved quickly after dinosaur extinction
Fossil Friday: paleontological trove shows how mammals took over from the dinosaurs
The T. Rex Didn’t Stomp Its Feet. It Walked Like a 9-Ton Ballerina
Life had a big rebound following marine mass extinction event

A Prehistoric Record Hidden in Plain Sight

Unlike fossilized bones, which tell you what a dinosaur looked like, footprints offer paleontologists evidence of prehistoric animals in motion. Their shape and spacing can help reconstruct how dinosaurs walked, how quickly they moved and, when multiple trackways occur together, potentially whether they traveled in groups.

Thailand has a surprisingly rich history of such discoveries. The country’s first documented dinosaur footprints emerged in the 1980s at Phu Luang Wildlife Sanctuary. That site preserves 15 three-toed impressions attributed to large theropods, according to a 2026 scientific review of Thailand’s prehistoric footprints.

At the moment, authorities are most concerned with protecting the trackway. The Thai government has temporarily closed the discovery area while specialists assess how to prevent damage from visitors and water erosion.

The goal is to ultimately develop the location into an educational and paleontological tourism site.