Thousands of dino prints found in northern Italy

Thousands of dinosaur footprints have been found in a national park in Italy.

They were discovered on a rock face in the north of the country.

Experts believe they date back more than 200 million years.

It's thought the tracks belonged to prosauropods - plant-eating dinos which had long necks, small heads and sharp claws.

The footprints were first spotted last September by photographer Elio Della Ferrera, who was in the area.

He noticed them stretching over hundreds of metres on a mountain wall in the Stelvio national park, north-east of Milan.

The tracks, some up to forty centimetres wide, were lined up in neat rows, with many clearly showing traces of toes and claws.

It's believed the prints were made between around 200 to 250 million years ago, during the Triassic period.

Back then, the mountain wall was mudflat - a coastal wetland - which only later became part of the Alpine chain.

Local paleontologist Cristiano Dal Sasso couldn't believe the discovery.

"I never would have imagined I'd come across such a spectacular discovery in the region where I live," he explained.

He explained that the area would have been full of dinosaurs and that the herds moved in harmony.

Mr Dal Sasso added: "There are also traces of more complex behaviours, like groups of animals gathering in a circle, perhaps for the purposes of defence."

Prosauropods, which could reach lengths of 10 metres, walked on two legs but in some places experts found handprints in front of footprints.

This indicating that they probably stopped and rested their forelimbs on the ground.

According to a statement from the Italian culture ministry, the area where the footprints was found is remote and not accessible by paths.

As a result, drones and remote sensing technology will be used for scientists to take a closer look at the tracks.