By Alex Ababio
For more than 20 years, a rock with dinosaur footprints sat unnoticed in a school in Queensland, Australia. No one realized how important it was until scientists recently examined it. The rock contains fossilized footprints from dinosaurs that lived about 200 million years ago. This discovery helps scientists learn more about the history of dinosaurs in Australia.
A Hidden Treasure in a Schoolyard
In 2002, coal miners found a large rock with unusual footprints. They donated it to a school in Biloela, a small town in Queensland’s Banana Shire. The rock was placed in the school’s foyer, but no one knew how important it was. Some teachers thought it was just a replica.
Recently, the school contacted paleontologist Dr. Anthony Romilio from the University of Queensland. They asked him to examine the rock. When he looked closely, he discovered something amazing—it had dozens of fossilized dinosaur footprints.
A Rare and Important Discovery
According to Dr. Romilio, the rock shows one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur footprints ever found in Australia. The footprints belong to a small plant-eating dinosaur called Anomoepus scambu. This dinosaur walked on two legs and lived in the early Jurassic period, around 200 million years ago.
“It’s an unprecedented snapshot of dinosaur abundance, movement, and behavior from a time when no fossilized dinosaur bones have been found in Australia,” said Dr. Romilio.
Fossilized footprints are common, but many researchers ignore them because they are less exciting than dinosaur bones. However, footprints can provide valuable information about how dinosaurs lived, walked, and interacted with their environment.
66 Footprints on a Small Rock
Dr. Romilio found 66 separate dinosaur footprints on the rock, which is less than one square meter in size. The footprints show how dinosaurs moved through the area millions of years ago.
“Significant fossils like this can sit unnoticed for years, even in plain sight,” Dr. Romilio explained. “It’s incredible to think that a piece of history this rich was resting in a schoolyard all this time.”
How the Rock Was Found
The discovery happened when researchers began looking for dinosaur fossils in the region. Dr. Romilio and his team started asking locals if they knew of any fossils. This led them to the school, where they found the forgotten rock.
“Some of the teachers thought this was a replica rather than the real thing,” Romilio said. “Everyone didn’t quite realize what they actually had. They definitely knew it was a dinosaur footprint. But not the level of detail that a researcher like myself would go into.”
Another Surprising Find: A Boulder with More Footprints
While searching for fossils, Dr. Romilio made another shocking discovery. He noticed a two-tonne boulder at the entrance of a coal mine car park. The rock was being used to stop cars from driving onto the lawn.
“As I’m driving into the car park, I see one of those car park boulders,” Dr. Romilio recalled. “And it’s got this clear-as-day dinosaur fossil. My jaw dropped when I saw that.”
This shows that important fossils can be found in unexpected places. Many dinosaur discoveries are made by ordinary people rather than professional scientists.
Why Dinosaur Footprints Matter
Dinosaur footprints are very useful for scientists. They can show:
The type of dinosaurs that lived in an area
How the dinosaurs walked and moved
How many dinosaurs lived in a region at a certain time
What the environment was like millions of years ago
Even though dinosaur bones are more popular, footprints are often the only evidence we have of some dinosaur species. Fossilized footprints can also tell us if dinosaurs walked alone or in groups.
Australia’s Dinosaur History
Australia has many important dinosaur fossil sites. Some of the most famous include:
Lark Quarry Conservation Park (Queensland) – This site has over 3,000 dinosaur footprints, believed to show a dinosaur stampede.
Winton Formation (Queensland) – Fossils of large dinosaurs like Australovenator and Diamantinasaurus have been found here.
Victoria’s Dinosaur Cove – Home to fossils of small meat-eating dinosaurs that lived in polar conditions.
However, Australia does not have many dinosaur bone fossils from the early Jurassic period. This makes the discovery in Biloela even more important.
Conclusion
The discovery of fossilized dinosaur footprints in an Australian school is an exciting breakthrough. The rock sat unnoticed for over 20 years, but now scientists are learning valuable information from it.
This finding reminds us that history can be hidden in everyday places. Whether in a schoolyard or a car park, important fossils can be discovered anywhere. Researchers hope this discovery will encourage more people to look for fossils and help uncover new pieces of Earth’s ancient past.
References
University of Queensland (2025). Discovery of Dinosaur Footprints in Biloela.
Australian Museum (2024). Dinosaur Fossils of Australia.
Romilio, A. (2025). Personal Interview on Fossil Discoveries.