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Monumento natural Huellas de Dinosaurio de Santisteban del Puerto

, Santisteban del Puerto

This Natural Monument of the Dinosaur Footprints of Santisteban del Puerto transports those who visit it to a very remote past, when man had not yet walked the earth. Located one kilometer from the urban center of Santisteban del Puerto, El Condado region, it is one of the two ichnite sites located in Andalusia.

In this paleontological site there are a series of 24 footprints up to nine centimeters deep belonging to bipedal dinosaurs from the Triassic. Printed on red clays, possibly belonging to the group of Archosaurs, they are older than 230 million years. It is a very enigmatic site, since the almost parallel placement of the fingers and especially the central finger shorter than the two lateral ones, make them, for now, unique in the world.

These footprints, also known as ichnites, are not easy to locate, since various environmental conditions have to exist for their formation. Among them, that the material on which these animals walked was different from that which was subsequently deposited on top. Almost certainly, these footprints were printed on sediments of a river bed or lagoon to later be covered by some other material that allowed their conservation to this day.

The shape of the footprints reveals that these dinosaurs walked on two legs, with movements similar to those of a kangaroo. You can even know data such as their approximate size and weight, age and social habits. The arrangement of the 24 icnites in the same direction suggests the scene of a group of animals heading to a certain place.

The remains of pollen or vegetation, also fossilized, reveal very different environmental conditions from the current ones, where the vegetation was made up of conifers, palms and ferns, favored by a warmer and more humid climate than the present.

A kind of hut has been built in the place that protects them from unnecessary wear and tear. Likewise, a metal sculpture has been placed next to the footprints that reminds them of their "owner". It is worth mentioning that in the vicinity there are also interesting cave paintings, such as the Cueva del Apolinario dating from the Copper Age; all of them very similar to those found in the neighboring natural spaces of Despeñaperros and La Cimbarra.

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