A dinosaur footprint discovered in a Brisbane quarry more than 60 years ago has been identified as Australia's oldest known trace fossil, dating back approximately 230 million years. The fossil was unearthed in 1958 by a young Bruce Runnegar, now a renowned palaeontologist, at a sandstone quarry in the suburb of Albion.
Runnegar kept the footprint in his personal collection for decades, using it as a teaching tool for students around the world. In 2021, he contacted Dr. Anthony Romilio from the University of Queensland's dinosaur lab to verify the specimen. Dr. Romilio used software to create a 3D map of the fossil and determined it came from a type of dinosaur called a sauropodomorph.
The dinosaur that left the footprint would have weighed about 144 kilograms and could run up to 60 kilometers per hour. It lived during the Carnian period, making it potentially the oldest known trace fossil in Australia. Dr. Romilio noted that this period in Australia's geological history previously had no dinosaur fossils that old.
Last year, Runnegar donated the fossil to the Queensland Museum, where it will be added to the University of Queensland's collection for research and education. Kristen Spring, senior collection manager of geosciences at the Queensland Museum, said any new addition to Queensland's dinosaur record is exciting and helps understand past climates and environments.
Runnegar, now 85, reflected on his career path, noting that he initially dismissed geology as a career due to advice that required a robust physique and love of the outdoors, which he lacked. Despite this, he became a geologist. Dr. Romilio suggested that other fossils may be hidden in Brisbane's sandstone buildings, such as the General Post Office, which is made of the same material as the quarry.
