Welsh Dinosaurs

• Did you know that dinosaurs lived in Wales over 200 million years ago?
• 220 million years ago a desert covered the area that is now south Wales. However, sea levels were rising, and by 200 million years ago the deserts had been replaced by tropical seas.
• Dracoraptor is a small Welsh dinosaur from the Jurassic. It was found by fossil hunters in 2014 and is now on display in Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales.

Fossils represent the remains of animals and plants that lived millions of years ago and can inspire people of all ages. Recent discoveries of beautifully preserved, 200-million-year-old dinosaur fossils in south Wales have increased our understanding of these iconic reptiles and the environments in which they lived. The very oldest Welsh fossils date back to just over 560 million years ago – but that is another story.

When did dinosaurs first appear?

Dinosaurs first evolved around 240–235 million years ago. At that time life on earth was just recovering from the largest mass extinction of all time, known as the Great Dying, and many new groups were evolving to fill empty niches left by extinct animals. During this time, a period we call the Triassic, all of the continents that we know today were joined together as a massive supercontinent, Pangaea, which provided a hot, dry climate that Dinosaurs and other reptiles benefitted from. Dinosaurs and the flying pterosaurs belong to a group of reptiles called archosaurs, of which crocodiles and birds are the only living members today.

What did early dinosaurs look like?

The very earliest dinosaurs were all small, lightweight, bipedal animals which walked upon two legs, and it was only much later that they evolved into the extreme sizes, shapes and lifestyles that we are so familiar with today.

When were dinosaurs first discovered in Wales?

Anchisauripus, the first dinosaur footprints to be found in Wales, in 1879

The first evidence of dinosaurs in Wales was found in 1879 when a Welsh artist and natural historian called T.H. Thomas was exploring villages near Porthcawl in the Vale of Glamorgan. He noticed an unusual slab of rock near the church at Newton. The flat, 2m-square rock contained a trackway of five indented footprints, each with three straight toes. Local legend said that these were the devil’s footprints, but Thomas recognised them as matching with dinosaur footprints found in America. He arranged for the rock to be removed to the Cardiff Municipal Museum (forerunner of National Museum Cardiff as it is known today).

The same year, a second slab was found nearby with three different dinosaur footprints. One of these footprints was larger and broader, with four curved toes.

Can you still find dinosaur footprints in the rocks of south Wales?

Yes, there are a few Welsh sites where you can still find footprints today. It is important to remember that these are all protected by law, as they are Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and hammering or collecting footprints could lead to a huge fine.

Bendricks Bay, near Barry, is the best place to view some of the footprints. You need to visit when there is a low tide and look very carefully in the flat rock ledges. It is easiest to see footprints if the sun is low in the sky, or after rain when the little hollows are full of water.

What type of dinosaur footprints have been found in south Wales?

There are at least four different types of footprints that have been found in south Wales. There are two larger types and two smaller ones; however, they probably represent far more than just four varieties of dinosaur. There are also a few prints that might have been made by other types of reptiles.

What types of dinosaurs made these footprints?

Footprint of a small dinosaur found in 2020

It is almost impossible to say exactly what dinosaurs made any footprints, as many types have similar feet. Instead, palaeontologists use names that represent the size and shape of the footprint without trying to match it to any one animal. We compare the size and shape of the footprints with the fossilised foot bones of reptiles that lived at around the same time to work out the general group of dinosaurs that might have made them.

Three-toed footprints of about 20cm in length with a long middle toe are given the name Anchisauripus (An-chi-SAW-rip-uss). We think that Anchisauripus footprints were made by theropod or meat-eating, dinosaurs that were about 2m tall, and maybe up to 5m long. These would have been the top predators in the area.

The broader, four-toed (or sometimes three-toed) footprints are called Eosauropus (Eo-saw-RO-puss). Eosauropus footprints would have been made by plant-eating herbivorous dinosaurs, possibly about 2–3m tall.

There are also smaller three-toed prints called Grallator (GRAL-a-tor). These are about 8–12cm long and have a long middle toe. They were probably made by small theropod dinosaurs.

The fourth type is Evazoum (Eva-ZO-um). These are about 10–12cm long, and have either 3 or 4 straight toes which are all pretty much the same length. They were probably made by small herbivorous, sauropodomorph (saw-ro-POE-doe-morph) dinosaurs. The little footprint found by Lily Wilder in 2021 was of this type and can now be seen in National Museum Cardiff.

How long ago did these dinosaurs live?

The dinosaurs that left the footprints in south Wales lived here 220 million years ago. This was in the upper part of the Triassic period (the Norian Stage). The reddish rock in which they were preserved is called the Mercia Mudstone.

What was Wales like in the Triassic period?

220 million years ago Wales was just one small part of the huge supercontinent called Pangaea. There was no Atlantic Ocean or North Sea as Wales was joined to America and Europe. This meant we had a very hot dry climate, and much of south Wales was covered in hot deserts.

Occasional storms caused floods of muddy water and rocks to tumble down from the surrounding hills and spill over the desert floor. This created shallow lakes and streams which evaporated rapidly leaving wet mud. Dinosaurs left footprints as they walked thorough this mud which then baked hard in the sun, preserving the prints before they were covered by the next flood.

Have any bones of these Triassic dinosaurs been found?

Zanclodon – the jaw of a theropod dinosaur found in 1897

In 1897, a single jawbone was found at Stormy Down, near Bridgend. This was preserved in rocks that are just a few million years younger than the footprints. The jawbone was found in a rock called the Quarella Sandstone, of late Triassic age. It shows very clear impressions of several curved, backwards pointing teeth, indicating that this was a meat-eater. The dinosaur was given the name of Zanclodon (ZAN-clo-don), meaning ‘hollow-tooth’. It is thought to have been the same general type of dinosaur that left Anchisauripus footprints.

More recently, a finger bone and a toe bone of similarly sized dinosaurs have been found from the Triassic (Rhaetic bone bed) at Penarth, which is of a similar age. These remain in private ownership at the moment.

Have there been any other dinosaur discoveries in Wales?

Two small, fossilised dinosaurs were found in a quarry near Cowbridge, south Wales. They were excavated in the 1950s when quarries were worked by hand, rather than by explosives. These two dinosaurs were both juveniles, or young dinosaurs, and were both very small. They stood about 50cm tall. One of these is a sauropodomorph dinosaur called Pantydraco (Pant-ur-DRAY-co) whilst the other is a little theropod called Pendraig (Pen-DRY-g). It is almost impossible to give exact dates for these dinosaurs as they were found in the remains of ancient caves, where they had been washed into small cracks and deep fissures. It is thought that they were probably from the very latest part of the Triassic period – about 200–205 million years ago. These fossils belong to the Natural History Museum, London.

Are there any Jurassic dinosaurs in south Wales?

In 2014, the partial skeleton of a meat-eating dinosaur called Dracoraptor (Dray-co-RAP-tor) was found at Lavernock Point near Penarth. This was found in several blocks after a cliff fall. The bones are semi-articulated, with one block containing elements of the hip and upper leg, another had the left arm and hand bones, a third contained the skull, whilst another had bones of the left foot. This skeleton didn’t fall apart before it was fossilised, but floated out to sea, where it then sank and was covered by mud.

What did Dracoraptor look like?

Dracoraptor was a small dinosaur. It would have been no more than 2.5m long and probably only about 50–70cm tall. It was a slim animal that could have moved swiftly to catch its prey. It had many sharply jagged teeth, which pointed backwards in its jaw. It walked and ran on its back legs, possibly using its arms to grab at its prey. It had a very long tail, and a long neck.

Skull of Dracoraptor, the small theropod dinosaur found in 2014

An artist’s impression of Dracoraptor

How long ago did Dracoraptor live?

Dracoraptor lived around 201 million years ago. We know this because we can see the exact layer of rock from which the fossil fell. The rocks at this point have been logged and measured in detail so we know their age. This was the very start of the Jurassic Period.

What did Wales look like in the early Jurassic Period?

This was a time of climate change and sea-level rise in Wales. The super-continent of Pangaea started breaking apart in the late Triassic and the Atlantic Ocean began to form. The Triassic deserts were slowly flooded by the rising seas, and the climate turned much wetter too. By the start of the Jurassic, south Wales was mostly covered by warm, shallow seas, which were an ideal habitat for many marine animals. Some of the previous hills were now islands, sticking up out of the seas, and these islands were inhabited by early mammals, dinosaurs and other reptiles.

Where can I find dinosaur fossils in Wales?

Dinosaur fossils are incredibly rare, and you really aren’t likely to find one yourself. There is nowhere in the UK where you could go and find guaranteed dinosaur fossils. However, there are many other fossils to be found, as long as you follow sensible safety rules and take care not to damage or try to remove any in solid rock surfaces.

If you do find something you are uncertain about, then it’s best to contact National Museum Cardiff in order to get your finds checked out. Do remember to let us know where you found your fossil, and what size it is. When we reply, you can then send us photos of your find.

Also check out our Spotter’s Sheets to help with identifying your own finds.