"We took advantage of an open day to go and see the dinosaur tracks in Courtedoux. Clearly we weren't the only ones to have had that idea, given the number of vehicles parked at the junction in Chevenez. It was a rainy morning, so we had done well to put our boots on before going to the site. We quickly joined a group led by a palaeontologist who offers a guided tour. We learned that the climate of the region in those days was quite similar to that of the Bahamas today. Although our guide was a scientist, he gave clear explanations of the dinosaur species that had left their tracks on the stone slabs. It was incredible to think that we were looking at the remains of a walk on the beach, many millions of years later. We wondered whether our children would one day find the tracks that we must have left on the beaches on our holidays."
Manon and Yann
Info
150 million-year-old dinosaur tracks have been discovered in the Courtedoux region. This experience and journey of discovery is one of the most significant throughout Switzerland and Europe as a whole. Stone slates, distributed on six archaeological sites, show over 7000 tracks and traces of theropods, two-legged carnivores, sauropods and four-legged herbivores that once lived along the shores of the Jurassic sea. Some traces even indicate that part of these species were up to 30 meters long. And in addition to the footprints of dinosaurs, and turtle and crocodile fossils, a variety of molluscs supply essential knowledge about the climate and enviromental conditions pertaining to the era.
Good to know
Office Cantonal de la Culture
Paléojura
Céline Fuchs
Hôtel des Halles
2900 Porrentruy 2
T. +41 (0) 32 420 84 59
F. +41 (0) 32 420 84 99
www.paleojura.ch
