The Serra de Aire Dinosaur Footprints Natural Monument (Monumento Natural das Pegadas dos Dinossáurios da Serra de Aire), better known only as Serra de Aire Footprints (Pegadas da Serra de Aire), sometimes also called Ourém / Torres Novas Dinosaurs Footprints Natural Monument (Monumento Natural das Pegadas de Dinossáurios de Ourém/Torres Novas), was created in 1996 by Regulatory Decree 12 / 96 of 22 October. As the name implies, it is located in Portugal, in Serra de Aire, near Fátima, in the municipalities of Ourém and Torres Novas, and is an integral part of the Natural Park of Serras de Aire and Candeeiros (Parque Natural das Serras de Aire e Candeeiros), occupying an area of about 20 ha.
In the place where the dinosaur footprints are today, there was a quarry, the Pedreira do Galinha; on July 2, 1994, Ricardo Matos da Silva, João Pedro Falcão and João Carvalho, discovered the footprints that would turn the quarry into the current monument.
Dating from local rocks indicates an age of approximately 175 million years, from the Middle Jurassic. Where today you can visit the Serra de Aire, there was a shallow and coastal area with parts flooded by tides. At that time, Europe was still linked to North America, forming the supercontinent known as Pangea and between Iberia and present-day Canada, there was a shallow sea with clear, warm waters that promoted the precipitation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3 ) of limestone and led to the formation of coral reefs. The climate was hot and humid, so the vegetation was abundant.
At the bottom of these marine lagoons, a limestone mud was deposited, where the footprints of the animals that passed by were easily marked; among them, there were sauropod dinosaurs, herbivorous animals, and large, reaching 30 meters in length and 70 tons in weight, for whom, this abundant forest landscape, was the perfect home, being this species, the most footprints found.
In the place where the dinosaur footprints are today, there was a quarry, the Pedreira do Galinha; on July 2, 1994, Ricardo Matos da Silva, João Pedro Falcão and João Carvalho, discovered the footprints that would turn the quarry into the current monument.
Dating from local rocks indicates an age of approximately 175 million years, from the Middle Jurassic. Where today you can visit the Serra de Aire, there was a shallow and coastal area with parts flooded by tides. At that time, Europe was still linked to North America, forming the supercontinent known as Pangea and between Iberia and present-day Canada, there was a shallow sea with clear, warm waters that promoted the precipitation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3 ) of limestone and led to the formation of coral reefs. The climate was hot and humid, so the vegetation was abundant.
At the bottom of these marine lagoons, a limestone mud was deposited, where the footprints of the animals that passed by were easily marked; among them, there were sauropod dinosaurs, herbivorous animals, and large, reaching 30 meters in length and 70 tons in weight, for whom, this abundant forest landscape, was the perfect home, being this species, the most footprints found.
