One of the smallest and narrowest geological links between Africa and South America is the bend or elbow in northeastern Brazil. It is bordered by the coast of present-day Cameroon. Along the Gulf of Guinea The two continents are South America and Africa. It seems to run continuously along this narrow line. This allows animals on either side of this connection to move across it.
Recently, an international research team led by paleontologists from Southern Methodist University in Texas, USA, revealed the discovery of more than 260 dinosaur footprints from the Early Cretaceous period in Brazil and Cameroon. It shows that land-dwelling dinosaurs roamed freely between South America and Africa millions of years ago. Paleontologists determined that these footprints were sealed in mud. River sediments and an ancient lake dating back 120 million years on a single supercontinent called Gondwana.
Most fossilized dinosaur footprints belong to the three-toed theropod group, which includes all large carnivorous dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus rex or T. rex. Some footprints belong to sauropods, including long-necked, long-tailed dinosaurs that walked on four legs, as well as to ornithischians. Ornithischians are those with bird-like pelvises.
Credit: Southem Methodist University
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