Our study recorded a 40% increase in the maximum and average footprint length in the studied time interval of 35 million years. This is possible because there is a direct link between foot length, and therefore footprint length, and body size (specifically hip heights and body lengths). Based on these measurements across time and space, we were able to draw conclusions about theropod foot and body size evolution. Once we identified the theropod footprints in the field, we quantified their footprint shape by measuring a set of standard parameters agreed on by the global dinosaur trace fossil scientist community. They also provide evidence about the substrate conditions when the creature walked, such as whether it sank into wet sand or was standing firmly on dry gravel. They offer clues to the creature's behaviour - hopping on two legs would leave a different footprint pattern than walking on four. They can reveal what organism made the tracks - different animals have different footprint shapes. These fossil footprints are a treasure chest of information. But their footprints, preserved in the rocks during the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic, are abundant. In the main Karoo Basin, bone fossils of carnivorous dinosaurs called theropods are incredibly scarce. The traces of animals offer another avenue of study. Bone fragments alone cannot help scientists to piece together the puzzle of ancient life. The problem is that intact body fossils can be rare in some areas. Body fossils can assist in recreating the ancient life forms, understanding what they looked like, their size, and even how they grew and evolved.
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