UMK Researchers Found Dinosaur Footprint Fossil in Bukit Panau

UMK Researchers Found Dinosaur Footprint Fossil in Bukit Panau

TANAH MERAH – [UPDATED] A team of researchers from the Department of Geoscience, Faculty of Earth Sciences (FSB), Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) claimed to have found traces of dinosaur footprints believed to be from a group of 145-year-old to 66 million-year-old Sauropod species in Bukit Panau, Kelantan.

The discovery of the fossil is the result of a geoscience exploration study by the UMK research team led by FSB Lecturer, Arham Muchtar Achmad Bahar and Professor Surono Martosuwito with Professor Udi Hartono assisted by Mohd Syakir Sulaiman. Arham Muchtar said, the activity and research started in May 2017 again and has successfully found the fossils of the site as well as the dinosaur track route from Sbgrup Sauropod.

“These findings prove that once upon a time it was expected between 160 to 66 million years ago, dinosaurs once lived in a location that we now know as Tanah Merah, Kelantan. “This is one of the findings from many other findings as a result of exploration and research activities that we carry out in Kelantan,” he told the media today.

According to him, the continuation of the discovery, his party has published a scientific journal entitled ‘The Sauropod Dinosaur Trackways from Tanah Merah, Kelantan’ in conjunction with the organization of Conference on Tropical Resources & Sustainable Sciences (CTRESS) 2.0 online on 10 and 11 August 2020.

He said the team also found seven Sauropod fossil footprints measuring an average of 72 centimeters long and wide with an average of 66 centimeters printed on Quartz Sandstone from the Panau Formation of 60 meters (m) square. “The Sauropod fossil is estimated to be between 65 and 160 million years old last year, from the time of the last Jura to the early Lime,” he said.

A dinosaur footprint fossil that is said to be millions of years old was found in Bukit Panau Tanah Merah by the UMK research team. He said the same team had also identified that the seven footprint of the Sauropod Dinosaur fossil was a four-legged reptile from a herbivorous species, a plant-eating creature.

“Based on the footprint evidence, this animal is believed to have a large body with a spine as high as nine meters, length up to 22 meters and weighs around 30 to 40 tons.

“The Sauropod Dinosaur species is also known as the largest animal that ever lived on this earth.

“This success means a lot to UMK, especially with the establishment of the Department of Geoscience, Faculty of Earth Sciences which conducts research on the life of these dinosaurs,” he said. Arham Muchtar said, researchers have spent more than 10,000 hours investigating and tracking dinosaurs in Kelantan. He said, based on the findings, his party identified the Sauropod fossils based on the morphology of the footprints and the traces of the tracks found and then confirmed by world dinosaur experts from Japan.

According to him, according to the condition of the land structure and geology in the Bukit Panau area, his party found that the Saurapod lived in the terrestrial environment, especially around the winding river. “Until now we have not been able to determine the species of Sauropod because the data required is still not enough.

“Dinosaur research and exploration activities in this area are not new because at least since 2016, we have carried out several studies either by geologists from within or outside the country,” he said. He said the existence of dinosaurs in Bukit Panau is expected by many geologists based on geological conditions that can be associated with some areas in Southern Thailand contain dinosaur fossils.

“We hope in the near future all parties can give positive cooperation to continue this study. We believe there are still some other types of dinosaur fossils that are still stored in the rocks in Bukit Panau, ”he said.

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