Dinosaurs of Barkhausen-Riemsloh

These are the most important quotations from the visitor info-boards on the location of the dinosaurs' footprints:

A little herd

In the upper jurassic age, at least eleven dinosaurs walked across a sandbank here, that was temporarily flooded. They left an apparently confuse accumulation of footprints. Looking more closely, one can find several continuous tracks. Nine of them were left by so called Sauropods – long necked herbivores. Their feet had a round shape and the forefeet were smaller than the hind feet. All nine sauropods went from south to north, meaning from top to bottom from today’s point of view.

Two loners

Two more tracks were left by another dinosaur species. These dinosaurs went on two feet and had a three-toed footprint. One track runs upwards, meaning in southern direction. The second, more blurry track runs from left to right (westwards). The three-toed footprints presumably were left by a big predator. These huge animals walked on two legs and probably were fast runners.

Did these dinosaurs walk through the Wiehengebirge?

No way! They went along a coastline!
Did they have to protect from the cold in winter?
No. Because they lived in tropical climate all the year!

Since the age of the dinosaurs, this region has completely changed. Europe moved from the equator to the northern hemisphere, while mountains were piled up and eroded again, oceans extended, left sand and gravel and flooded back again.
The tracks of the dinosaurs remind us of how instable our natural environment is.

In the district of Osnabrück we can find lots of different layers of rock, that originally were horizontal, but today are tilted, bent or folded. The Wiehengebirge, where we are in now, is the northern edge of the Mid-German mountains. The rocks, these mountains consist of, came into being in the jurassic period and are therefore 140 to 200 millions of years old.

Who tells us, that it was a Megalosaurus, that left its footprints here 150 Million years ago?
And how do we know, it looked like this?

No skelletons, no bones and no imprints of skin. All, that the dinosaurs left here in the late Jurassic age, were their footprints. Nevertheless we know more about these animals than their shoe size.

Layers of the same age

The most important hint that we get is the age of the rock layers carrying the footprints. Everywhere in the world we can find layers of the same age like in this quarry. In some cases, bones or even skelletons were found in these rocks. The feet of Megalosaurus-skelettons fit well into the three-toed footprints.

A huge predator

An adult Megalosaurus like this reconstruction had a body-length of about nine meters and an estimated weight of 900 kg. It walked on its two legs while with its short, but strong arms it could grab its prey. Bones that were found in many places allow quite good reconstructions. Nevertheless there are many details left, where guessing is all we can do.

Many open questions

How did Megalosaurus feed? Did it hunt actively, to kill the long-neck herbivores of its time, or did he roam the Jurassic forests, searching for carrion? What was the colour of its skin? There is no certain knowledge about these things.

Source: TERRA vita, Naturpark Nördlicher Teutoburger Wald, Wiehengebirge, Osnabrücker Land e.V.

Models of a megalosaurus and sauropod on Barkhausen location.
All photos by Rolf Badenhausen.