The Footprint Owner Found at Bangudae Petroglyphs is Korestodera

Nine Front Legs and Nine Back Legs in Complete Form
The Only Data Identifying the Locomotion Characteristics and Behavior Patterns of Choristodera
Estimated Body Length 90~100 cm... Moves with Semi-Upright Gait Like a Crocodile

Restoration of the lifestyle of Choristodera walking along the electric Cretaceous lakeshore

It has been revealed that the owner of the ‘new type of quadrupedal vertebrate footprint fossil’ discovered near the Bangudae Petroglyphs in Daegok-ri, Ulju in June 2018 (National Treasure No. 285) is Choristodera.

The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage announced on the 4th that it published the results of the investigation on the ‘new type of quadrupedal vertebrate footprint fossil’ on the 2nd through Scientific Reports, a sister journal of Nature. This fossil, left in the Early Cretaceous strata, attracted public attention as eighteen footprints were found intact in a single trackway. Its form was very different from previously reported quadrupedal vertebrate footprint fossils such as those of dinosaurs, pterosaurs, turtles, and crocodiles.

Novapes ulsanensis Footprint Fossil

The study revealed that the footprints belong to Choristodera, an aquatic reptile that appeared in the Mesozoic era and became extinct in the Cenozoic era. This is the first report in Asia and the second in the world. The fossil first discovered in Colorado, USA in 1995 has incomplete footprint shapes to the extent that the distinction between front and hind feet is ambiguous. There are also claims that it may not be a Choristodera footprint. In contrast, the footprint fossils found around the Bangudae Petroglyphs consist of nine complete front footprints and nine complete hind footprints. They are evaluated as the only data to understand the previously unknown walking characteristics and behavioral patterns of Choristodera.

The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage named the fossil ‘Novapes ulsanensis’ in the report, meaning ‘new footprint discovered in Ulsan.’ The Choristodera that left the trace is estimated to have a body length of 90 to 100 cm. Each of its front and hind feet has five toes, with webbing on the hind feet, indicating adaptation to aquatic life. On land, it moved with a semi-erect gait similar to that of crocodiles.

Restoration of Choristodera Leaving Footprints of Novapes ulsanensis

An official from the institute stated, “The skeletal fossil ‘Monjurosuchus’ reported from the Early Cretaceous strata in China matches the skeletal structure, shape, and size of the foot, suggesting that the footprints were left by a similar type of Choristodera.” They added, “We will exhibit this achievement next year at the Daejeon Natural Monument Center exhibition hall and continue steady research on the natural heritage near the Bangudae Petroglyphs.”

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