INAH discovers 50 dinosaur footprints in Michoacán, Mexico

Specialists from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have discovered at least 50 fossilized dinosaur footprints in the bed of a stream in the community of San Juan de los Plátanos, Apatzingán, Michoacán. The prints date back approximately 65 million years to the late Cretaceous period Source: Excélsior, infobae, Diario Libre.

The discovery

The find began when local residents reported marks they attributed to "giant animals" to the INAH Michoacán Center Source: infobae, Infobae. Researcher Raymundo Cervantes Barriga visited the site and confirmed the footprints belonged to medium and large herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaurs Source: Excélsior. The prints are concentrated on a 40-square-meter platform of sedimentary rock at the river's edge, with individual footprints measuring between 12 and 48 centimeters in length and up to 30 centimeters wide Source: Excélsior, infobae, Diario Libre.

Preliminary classification

Based on morphology—size, shape, number of toes, and depth—Cervantes Barriga preliminarily attributed the prints to three dinosaur families Source: infobae:

• Large carnivorous theropods, possibly tyrannosaurids, up to 4 meters tall, with three-toed prints Source: Diario Libre.
• Smaller raptor-like dinosaurs of the family Dromaeosauridae, up to 2 meters tall, also with three toes Source: infobae.
• Herbivorous duck-billed dinosaurs (Hadrosauridae), up to 4 meters tall, with three-toed prints featuring rounded ends Source: Excélsior.

Significance and next steps

Claudia Curiel de Icaza, Mexico's Secretary of Culture, highlighted the role of local residents in alerting authorities and stated that INAH's commitment is to study and protect the heritage with scientific rigor Source: Excélsior. Since October 21, 2026, an INAH team has been documenting the site, including photogrammetry and mold casting Source: infobae. The site could become the fourth dinosaur track site in Michoacán, joining Playa Azul, El Aguaje, and the Tiquicheo-Tuzantla border area Source: infobae. Mexico has just over 30 registered dinosaur track sites nationwide Source: Diario Libre.