33 projects from all over Europe, Asia, North America and South America were competing
Two students from Portugal won the silver medal in a science competition held in Italy for the discovery of the only footprint of the dinosaur Stegopodus in Portugal and the second in Europe, located in Alcobaça.
In a statement, the Youth Foundation said the project by João Grenho and João Diogo, students from the Paço de Arcos School Grouping in Oeiras, won the silver medal in the Italian Contest for Young Scientists, “one of the main science contests for young people”, held by the Federazione delle Associazioni Scientifiche e Tecniche (FAST).
The project, entitled ‘Footprints of stegosaurus – the enigma!’, was distinguished in 2022 by the Youth Foundation in the National Contest for Young Scientists.
The discovery allowed the two students to represent the country in the science competition in Italy, where 33 projects from all over Europe, Asia, North America and South America were competing.
The 14-year-olds developed a classification scale and managed to identify, for the first time, the only footprint of the dinosaur Stegopodus in Portugal and the second in Europe, in the area of Alcobaça, near Leiria.
From fossil footprints, the youngsters developed a scale to distinguish the origin of tridactyl dinosaur footprints and were able to confirm “the first example of Stegopodus in Portugal”.
On the same surface that served as the basis for the youngsters’ project, a Deltapodus footprint had already been discovered “with probable origin in stegosaurs”.
“It is the first time, worldwide, that this coexistence of two types of footprints of these herbivores occurs”, highlights the Youth Foundation.
Source: Lusa
