UMK researchers find fossils of dinosaur footprints in Tanah Merah

A team of researchers from the Department of Geoscience, Faculty of Earth Sciences (FSB), Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), found seven footprints, believed to be that of dinosaur from the Sauropod species in Bukit Panau, Tanah Merah.

The footprints are believed to be between 145,000 and 66 million years old.

The discovery of the fossils was made following a geoscience exploration by a research team from UMK team led by FSB lecturer Arham Muchtar Achmad Bahar.

Others in the team are Surono Martosuwito, Udi Hartono and Mohd Syakir Sulaiman.

Arham Muchtar said the research, which started in May 2017, helped the team to discover the fossils of the footprints and track route of the dinosaur from the Sauropod subgroup.

“Following the discovery, we have published a scientific journal titled ‘The Saurapod Dinosaur Trackways from Tanah Merah, Kelantan,’ in conjunction with the online Conference on Tropical Resources and Sustainable Sciences (CTRESS) 2.0 held last Aug 10 and 11.

“The discovery proved that at one time, a long time ago, expected between 160 to 66 million years ago, dinosaurs once lived at a place we now know as Tanah Merah, Kelantan," he said in a statement today.

Arham Muchtar said the discovery was among the outcome of the exploration and research activities carried out by his team in Kelantan.

He said the discovery in Tanah Merah involved the fossils of seven footprints of the Sauropod species, a four-legged herbivore reptile.

Based on evidence found on the footprints, he said, they belonged to a large animal with a spine of nine metres high and weight of 30 to 40 tonnes.

“This dinosaur species is also known as the largest animal that has ever lived on earth,” he added.

He said the discovery was a meaningful success for UMK, especially with the establishment of the Department of Geoscience, Faculty of Earth Sciences which conducts research on the life of dinosaurs.

“The existence of dinosaurs in Bukit Panau has been expected by many geologists based on the geological conditions that can be associated with some areas in southern Thailand that also contain dinosaur fossils," he said.

He hoped to continue the research in Bukit Panau on the belief that there were still several more dinosaur fossils there.

- Bernama