Tracksite of Dinosaurs, Pterosaurs, and Birds in Uhang-ri, Haenam

Tracksite of Dinosaurs, Pterosaurs, and Birds in Uhang-ri, Haenam was originally a stretch of coastline submerged beneath the sea, but was exposed when the water level dropped after a dyke was built along the coast to link Hwawon Peninsula with Mokpo. Formed from sedimentary layers of the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic era, estimated at roughly 83 to 85 million years old, it not only shows the textbook sedimentary structures studied in schools but is also a fossil site of world-class scale. The site is notable for the large and varied numbers of dinosaur footprint fossils, pterosaur footprint fossils, bird footprint fossils and dinosaur bone fossils that have been found there. In the same stratum, two of the world's oldest known types of webbed bird footprints were discovered alongside the first pterosaur footprints ever found in Asia, providing the first evidence that pterosaurs and birds shared the same habitat. The site is not only a globally unique place for understanding the evolution of life and the environment of the Mesozoic era, but its strata of varied form and unusual sedimentary structures also give it high academic value.

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Where it is

Region

Haenam, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Natural Monument · 천연기념물