The Dinosaur Trackers Research Group

University of Colorado at Denver

General Overview
The Dinosaur Trackers Research Group was started almost 20 years ago by Professor Martin Lockley, and since that time students and faculty have been studying and collecting dinosaur tracks and other fossil footprints from Colorado and around the world. During that time we have collected more than 1000 fossil footprints, including many original specimens and replicas. This is the largest and most varied research collection of fossil footprints anywhere in the world. Professional trackers who have collaborated with the research group over many years include: Dr. Adrian Hunt, Dr. Christian Meyer, Dr. James Halfpenny, Dr. Masaki Matsukawa, and Dr. Joanna Wright, who currently is employed on the faculty at CU Denver.

Fossil footprints are the only direct evidence of the behavior of extinct animals, and as a record of life activity can give us extra data on the distribution of animals in the past. The Trackers Research Group has published several books and well over a hundred scientific papers (see Bibliography), many in conjunction with CU Denver students. Tracking Dinosaurs (Cambridge, 1991), Dinosaur Tracks and other fossil footprints of the western United States (Columbia, 1995), Dinosaur Tracks and other fossil footprints of Europe (Columbia, 1999), and The Eternal Trail (Perseus, 1999) provide summaries of much of this work.

The Trackers have worked in the western United States, Europe (Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Germany, Wales and England), east Asia (Japan and Korea), central Asia (Uzbekistan, Tadjikistan and Turkmenistan), and Africa (Tanzania), with sponsorship from the National Science Foundation, The National Geographic Society and other organizations.

The Trackers have a strong interest in conservation and public education, and have worked with many organizations to this end. We have particularly strong links with the Friends of Dinosaur Ridge. The Trackers also designed and constructed the Tracking Dinosaurs Exhibit, which has traveled to more than ten museum venues in Japan, Colorado, Switzerland and Britain since 1991, and has been seen by about one million people.

One of the main responsibilities of the Trackers is curating our large collection of fossil footprints and replicas. The track collection consists of about 1000 specimens, and is one of the largest, most diverse, and best documented fossil footprint collections in existence. The collection includes the oldest tracks known from Colorado (a 300 million year old reptile), type specimens of Tyrannosaurus footprints, a stegosaur track, ceratopsian tracks, pterosaur tracks, and tracks of African lions collected on a National Geographic expedition. It is primarily a research collection, but we also have a small exhibit on campus. Replicas of some of our specimens are available for educational purposes. Replicas can be obtained from Gaston Design Studios (Gastondesign@compuserve.com), Paleo Images, or from the Trackers.

Site Index:

Dino Trackers Home Page
Educational Opportunities
Dinosaur Trackers Exhibit
Dino Trackers Published Papers
Martin Lockley - Biography
Joanna Wright - Biography
Joanna Wright - Published Papers
Links

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Last updated March 6, 2000

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