Dinosaurs Around the World · Drawing 35 of 40
Footprints Are Clues
Fossils and Science
A fossil footprint is a trace of a step. Several tracks can record movement even without a skeleton.
Did you know?
A footprint does not always reveal the animal’s exact name.
Look together
What can you compare between two tracks?
An idea to try
Discuss with an adult which clues this picture helps you explore.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
Track shape, size and spacing provide clues about movement. Assignment to a precise species can remain uncertain. The illustrated tracks are an educational model, not a survey of a particular fossil trackway.
Look together: What can you compare between two tracks? Discuss with an adult which clues this picture helps you explore.
Sources and illustration notes (1)
Simplified reconstruction. Pose, unpreserved tissues and setting are interpreted. Choose your own colours; animals are not to one scale.
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. References identify the institution and the related lesson; some linked pages are in French.
- Australian Museum: Footprints Are CluesInfer movement from a fossil trackway while recognizing what it cannot tell us.
Source review: 2026-10-03. Illustrations are simplified for colouring.
