Anika Markle 
An exciting discovery by an international team of researchers led by SMU paleontologist Louis L. Jacobs has uncovered matching dinosaur footprints on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean. These Early Cretaceous-era tracks provide compelling evidence of a time when South America and Africa were part of a single landmass.
Footprints Linking Two Continents
Over 260 dinosaur footprints, dating back 120 million years, were found in Brazil and Cameroon, separated today by more than 3,700 miles. These tracks were preserved in mud and silt along ancient rivers and lakes on the supercontinent Gondwana, which formed after breaking off from Pangea.
The footprints—mostly made by three-toed theropods and some by sauropods and ornithischians—are nearly identical in shape and age, providing rare physical proof of a land connection that existed before the continents began drifting apart.
The Narrow Bridge Between Lands
Millions of years ago, northeastern Brazil and the coast of modern-day Cameroon formed one of the final connections between Africa and South America. This narrow strip allowed animals, including dinosaurs, to migrate freely between the two continents.
As tectonic plates shifted and rifts opened along Earth’s crust, magma filled the gaps, eventually creating the South Atlantic Ocean. Fossil pollen and sediments from ancient rivers and lakes in both regions corroborate the footprints’ age and origin.
Footprints as Ancient Storytellers
The preserved tracks offer a snapshot of life during this critical geologic period. Rivers and lakes supported diverse ecosystems, with plants feeding herbivores and carnivores hunting along the muddy floodplains. These conditions made the area a vital corridor for species to traverse Gondwana.
This study, a tribute to the late paleontologist Martin Lockley, sheds light on the profound connections between continents and ecosystems millions of years ago, offering a glimpse into Earth’s dynamic history.