For decades, students at Biloela State High School in Queensland, Australia, unknowingly walked past one of the most significant fossil discoveries in the country. A large rock slab, which had been on display at the school, turned out to contain 66 fossilized footprints from 47 individual dinosaurs, making it one of Australia’s most footprint-rich finds.
The discovery was made by paleontologist Anthony Romilio from the University of Queensland’s Dinosaur Lab, and the findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Historical Biology earlier this month. The fossilized tracks date back to the early Jurassic periodroughly 200 million years ago, when the region—now known as the Callide Basin—was a thriving ecosystem teeming with life.
The rock slab, initially unearthed in 2002, had been sitting unnoticed for years despite containing an incredible number of dinosaur tracks. The majority of the footprints are small, likely belonging to ornithischian dinosaurs—herbivores with long legs, stout bodies, short arms, and beaked heads. According to Romilio, these creatures were tiny, moving at a leisurely pace of less than 4 mph when they left their footprints behind.
Interestingly, the tracks suggest that the dinosaurs were mostly traveling in one of two directions, leading researchers to believe they were likely crossing a river. Supporting this theory, the slab also contains about 100 circular marks, possibly left behind by invertebrates and fast-moving water, indicating a once-dynamic environment.
The slab was originally found by a surveyor in 2002, who then alerted a senior geologist about the find. Rather than being sent to a museum, it was donated to Biloela State High School as a semi-public display. The discovery of its scientific importance only came to light when community members contacted Romilio, aware of his previous research on similar fossils.
“It’s incredible to think that a piece of history this rich was resting in a schoolyard all this time,” Romilio said. Using advanced 3D imaging and light filters, he was able to reveal hidden details in the prints that had gone unnoticed for years.
The high school slab wasn’t the only surprising discovery. The research team also examined two other rock specimens bearing dinosaur footprintsboth of which had been hiding in plain sight.
One slab, originally found at Boundary Hill Mine, had been moved to the Callide Mine Office, where it served as a decorative piece at a parking lot entrance. This rock contained two footprints from a bipedal dinosaur estimated to be about 31 inches in length.
The third specimen was found in a completely unexpected location—it had been used as a bookend. Despite its mundane purpose, the rock held a single well-preserved footprint that added further evidence to the team’s research.
Before this, early Jurassic dinosaur footprints in Queensland had only been found at three sites: Mount Morgan, Carnarvon Gorge, and Biloela. This discovery might expand our understanding of how dinosaurs moved in Australia.
“This discovery provides an unprecedented snapshot of dinosaur behavior in this region,” Romilio explained. The sheer number of prints suggests that ornithischian dinosaurs were more widespread than previously believed, giving scientists valuable clues about how these creatures thrived in prehistoric Australia.
