Fossil Collector Finds Perfectly Preserved Dinosaur Footprint, Steps in It

Amateur paleontology enthusiast Roger Trace has accidentally destroyed a portion of a 68-million-year-old theropod footprint by stepping directly into it while attempting to photograph it, leaving a modern shoe impression superimposed on the Cretaceous track. 'I was trying to get a better angle,' said Trace, who discovered the footprint during a hike in the Morrison Formation near Grand Junction, Colorado. 'I leaned forward, lost my balance, and stepped right in it. My New Balance left a very clear impression. You can read the logo.' Paleontologist Dr. Karen Stratigraphy, who was called to assess the damage, confirmed that the footprint is a genuine Late Cretaceous theropod track, likely belonging to a small tyrannosaur relative. She also confirmed that it now features a size-11 athletic shoe print pressed approximately two centimeters into the substrate. 'The good news is that roughly sixty percent of the original track is intact,' Dr. Stratigraphy said. 'The bad news is that the other forty percent now tells the story of a man in retail sneakers. Future paleontologists are going to have some very confusing questions about the Cretaceous footwear industry.' Trace has offered to 'scoop out' his footprint, a suggestion that Dr. Stratigraphy declined with what witnesses described as 'a full-body wince.' The site has since been roped off and placed under Bureau of Land Management protection. A sign has been posted reading 'PROTECTED PALEONTOLOGICAL SITE — DO NOT STEP ON, IN, OR NEAR FOSSILS,' which Trace notes 'would have been helpful about three days ago.' Trace has pivoted to mineral collecting, which he describes as 'harder to accidentally destroy with your feet.'