Madar, Yemen

Madar, Yemen is a village about 48km north of Sanaa. In 2003 a local journalist noted the existence of dinosaur footprints in limestone bedrock and brought them to the attention of geologists at the University of Sanaa. The main site of the finds, located at coord|15|46|49|N|44|14|25|E|type:city, is approximately 3 km west off the main road, and has been signposted and fenced by the Yemen Geological Survey. Additional tracks have been recognized nearby, within the villages of Arhab and Bait al Washr. At the main site it was determined that there were tracks of eleven sauropods and one ornithopod dating from 150 million years ago. Footprints of both juveniles and adults were found. The discovery is the first of dinosaur footprints in the Arabian Peninsula, and only a very few fossils have been previously identified in the peninsula. The discovery has since been signposted for tourists, and efforts are underway to list the site with UNESCO.

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7517307.stm BBC article about the site]
* [http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0002243 Scientific report of the findings]