I love to hike the Drakensberg or "dragon mountains" for the obvious reasons that can be seen in the pictures below.
Aside from its pristine beauty and majestic splendor it is also place with rich diversity in geology.
No wonder those who named these mountains thought dragons would live there.
Well, recently a new and scientifically significant "dragon" was discovered there.
We all know Tyrannosaurus rex or T-rex but he is rather young geologically and was surrounded by other giants.
Now a much older giant carnivore has been discovered in the drakensberg rocks that is about 128 million years older than T-rex. At this time in this part of the world the dinos were only around 3 to 5m in length.
This new guy is estimated to have been 8 to 9 meters (or 26 feet). There is only one other report of such a large carnivorous dinosaur present at the same time and that is a world away from Poland.
We don't have any body fossils yet just a set of very large footprints, so now the hunt is on to find some bones.
The new species has been named Kayentapus ambrokholohali
For further details
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0185941
Thats crazy! The only other dinosaur that I have even heard of being in Southern Africa is the Lesothosaurus. I remember doing a junior school project on it in grade 3.
You can check out more info about it here -
http://dinosaurpictures.org/Lesothosaurus-pictures
Wow, that is an exciting new find. And those mountains are spectacular!
I read the same about this new species and it is very important that the traces found belong to the era of the early Jurassic period, since it was previously believed that at that time there were no large dinosaurs. The find confirmed that they were. I hope that the scientists will find all the remains of the dinosaurs and we will be able to find out what they were like.
Yup, it expands the boundaries of the science of paleontology for sure.
yeahh i love these kinds of stories.. dragons and archaology.. someday we will find the egg and we have a living dragon again..
We have found eggs, but they have long since turned to stone
Too bad.. imagine we could see a real one once in our life.. i would book my travel to south Afrika today. Thx for your reply. Regards
I agree with you, hiking is very interesting. Just think a man. I don't ever seen the fossil of dinosaur. Very interesting topic. Thanks a lot
Amazing!! The full extent of what the earth held in those times and even before then is yet to be known. Thanks @gavvet for the post. Hoping to see some bones soon!
I hope so too, although this slice of time has very little by way of preserved bones in this area.
@gavvet,
This is interesting! Definitely this is a huge discovery (research) has been done by them! I am very interesting about this subject! So, nice to see you are interesting about Dinos too! Thanks for sharing this great information with us! This Dino will write a new history, that's amazing!
Cheers~
@gavvet - It's a nice & good news Sir.... But I'm glad they lived before we born :) 9m huge carnivore is a bad dream for me Sir.... I like Jurassic World... So they got a new Dinosaurs for their next movie Sir :)
+W+ [UpVoted & ReSteemed]
... you just blew my mind, @gavvet. In all my years of hearing about dinosaurs, never once did it occur to me that they existed in Africa too. Now it makes me wonder how many fossils will never be found in Nigeria because all the people who could have studied paleontology are instead in medicine or at best "Oil and Gas" because all we care about is money 😔
This is in South Africa? Cool!
Lesotho, but close enough
Gavvet, how are ya? It's me Helen from the conference last year. Please find me on social media, I wanna get in touch. Thanks.
Wow! THis is so cool.
I also wanted to thank you for the support you have given me for many months, I will leave you my lifetime support, I hope to be able to return that one day :).
Impressive the size of those footprints and how they are preserved! :) I love the archaeological finds and I often look for them, this summer I could have made a nice discovery, but I wait to publish it, first I want to have the confirmation from an expert.
It seems every year they find more places that Dinosaurs have existed.
Great article.
This is some interesting stuff. Great INFO.
wooow it's very nice post, true history !!!
I do hope something awesome can happen scientifically so that these unproven beast can well be placed into reality
These new species we are talking about, are they now existing or have they gone into extinction?
If these new T-Rex is somewhere in the mountains can we comfortably say these dinosaurs may afterall be proven to have existed? A lot of many questions to ask or be answered
A very interesting article and the theme of dinosaurs is very interesting to me. T-rex is a clear representative of the Cretaceous periud and for his time he was a formidable force. He really is the most impressive predator in the history of our planet. Its name comes from two ancient Greek words: a tyrant, a tyrant. By the size of the body is now the second terrestrial predator, yielding the palm of leadership to only the spinoza. However, for all other parameters, including the general musculature and massiveness of the head, he is superior to the latter. Thank you @gavvet
OMG, 200 million yrs ago and foot prints of large dinosaurs presereved here that's amazing for me. also thankful to you @gavvet giving informations about "dragon mountains" and large old "Dinosaurs" in your blog. That is my first comment on your any post.enjoyed to see such stuff. thanks.
It's a great post which kept me in knowledge and wanting more answer however it's a brilliant article
Imagine we where there with the knowledge we now have. How should we take care dor those animals ....
@gavvet, Thanks for posting long valuable discussion with steemians.
The modern use of the word ‘fossil’ refers to the physical evidence of former life from a period of time prior to recorded human history. This prehistoric evidence includes the fossilised remains of living organisms, impressions and moulds of their physical form, and marks/traces created in the sediment by their activities. There is no universally agreed age at which the evidence can be termed fossilised. This is long discussion and can be more pages talking.
There is nothing scarier than walking straight into a dragon's mountain den. And there is nothing more challenging than hiking in southern Africa's highest mountain range. However I really appreciated your work @gavvet.
Resteemed.
It's not surprising that mamy tourists visit this natural monument in South Africa every year. It will allow you to at least partially witness the beauty and grandeur of this famous South African landmark.
Awesome. Thanks @gavvet for such lovely post. Drakensberg mountain is a really popular and cool place. Am an African, and I have read some stories about it. It would really be a dream come true to visit this place.
I love the pictures above. They show what a wonder the mountain is.
You know, I got to discover that there is a saying that these lands inspired Tolkien, who was born in South Africa, to write his epic "Lord of the Rings" novel.
extraordinary Dragon place and wonderful photography ....very informative post.... I have a lot to learn on Dragon place.so,i appreciate your post.
thanks for sharing..
A unique post. Dinosaurs have
been extinct from the earth
thousands of years ago, but their
skeleton, footprints are found in
many places. I have not seen them
in life, so you can see what you
shared. Thank you so much.
In the Bible (התנ"ך in Hebrew). It talks about the "Giants" of Sihon, סיחון who were slain by the Children of Israel."These were actual giants with some supernatural strength who actually existed. I believe that these giants existed more than I believe everything about purported dinosaurs.
Perhaps a study of biology may allow your mind to entertain such a possibility?
You are right.
wow~
This is should be on GOT Instead of dragon stone, i wonder if it is a the same place... Hummm
Hi brother @gavvet
I hope you are fine
Beautiful Africa I am happy to be from Africa
The Drakensberg
Stunning mountain range
The first European settlers called them 'Dragon Mountains'; the Zulus call them 'Barrier of Spears' - whatever you know them as, the Drakensberg mountain range is one of the most spectacular natural features of Africa.
The highest mountain range in Southern Africa, the Drakensberg scenery is breathtakingly beautiful. Snowcapped in the Winter months, the mountains form a massive barrier between KwaZulu-Natal and the Kingdom of Lesotho. Tens of thousands of rock art paintings on rock faces depict the daily life of the San people, or bushmen, who roamed these slopes for years. In December 2000, the area received international recognition and was declared a World Heritage Site.
Nature lovers will enjoy the many hiking and walking trails available for all levels of ability. There are easier walks through lush meadows and across clear streams, or more strenuous hikes up and across rugged mountain terrain. In addition there are countless other activities including horse riding, fly-fishing, helicopter flips, and even white water rafting to be enjoyed.
Less than 2 hours drive from Durban, the Giant's Castle Game Reserve attracts visitors who come to visit one of the many San rock art sites, hike through the meadows and low hills, or climb Injasuti (the highest mountain in South Africa, at 3,459m). This is a stunning area with clean air, high mountains and waterfalls. Large herds of eland are a common sight. Two of the best places to see San rock art are at the Main Cave and Battle Cave. The paintings here date back thousands of years, and are still clearly visible on the walls and the ceilings. It is not possible to visit these on your own, but the Parks Board provide knowledgeable local guides at the entrance to the caves for a nominal fee
In the Central Drakensberg region, Cathedral Peak is the easiest of the higher climbs at 3,004m (9,853ft). It is a full day's climb, but you do not need any special equipment, just a fit pair of lungs and strong legs!
The Royal Natal National Park, in the Northern Drakensberg, is renowned for its stunning scenery and the famous Drakensberg Ampitheatre, a 5 km wide rock wall which stands 500m high.
We hope to support you (your vote is a great honor)
Lol, I really like the footprint pics, thanks for sharing. It's amazing to imagine those huge majestic creatures that roamed the Earth before I was born. MUCH before I was born. :D
nice click. @gavvet.Thanks for good info sharing.
wow ! amazing dragon place....So valuable information on advanced dragon, thank you so much! Resteemed and instant followed.keep up the good work in Dragon information.thanks
Ini sangat menakjubkan. Saya telah membaca posting Anda dan saya merasa sangat senang. Aku sangat menyukai barang ini sejak kecil. Terima kasih telah mengingat saya. Semongga selalu sukses di steemit.
Great post dear:)
This is very educational and the photos are awesome!
Thank you @gavvet !!
Hi friend, it is very sensitive news that the largest carnivorous animals foot prints found in drakensbarg rock. Yes Africa the continent is glorious for it dark forest and if the earliest animals of the world largest carnivorous dinosaur fossils will be find there, it will be great interesting news for all over the world and also become a great point for the study of earliest fossils of the world. Thanks for sharing such a valuable information. Wish you a very happy time friend.
Great post
Thanks for posting
great post ...
thanks for information
Very good post
Hey gavvet looking forward to light the world day14!🙌
thanks for the new blog. that is great and nice photography.
I sent you a prviate message on steemit.chat :-)
good post
Good content and quite informative. This is what I need. Thanks a lot.
Omg ....... Wow ..... wow ... wow .... Nice information .... Thanks for share this .... Upvote and resteem it ......
@gavvet , what a great history! Did you know I Didnt have an idea, and have just learnt a true history. Keep steeming it!
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Amazing!!!!
Very much in love with dinosaurs. Wonder if a cross breed with a human has ever been tried though.