The oldest fossil bird-like footprints from the upper Triassic of southern Africa

Footprint morphology reflects the anatomy of the trackmaker’s foot and is direct evidence for the animal’s behaviour.

Here, we present numerous, well-provenanced, Late Triassic and Early Jurassic tridactyl tracks from southern Africa, with demonstrable bird-like affinities, predating basal bird body fossils by c. 60 million years.