For the first time, scientists have uncovered fossilized footprints of large land animals preserved in ancient coastal sand dunes in the Spanish region of Murcia.
Among them are the clear tracks of a prehistoric elephant species, offering a rare and vivid glimpse into life along the Mediterranean coast during the last warm period of the Ice Age.
The discovery was made by an international research team including scientists from the University of Seville, the Andalusian Institute of Earth Sciences, and the University of Huelva, along with collaborators from Portugal.
Their findings were published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.
The footprints date back about 125,000 years, to a time known as the Last Interglacial, when the climate was warmer and wetter than today.
During this period, coastal areas of southeastern Spain were covered by forests, wetlands, and sand dunes—ideal habitats for a wide range of animals.
The most striking evidence comes from Torre de Cope, where researchers identified a trail of four large, rounded footprints preserved in fossilized dune rock. Each footprint measures between 40 and 50 centimeters across, and together they form a trackway nearly three meters long. Based on the size and spacing of the prints, scientists concluded they were made by an adult straight-tusked elephant, an extinct species that once roamed much of Europe. The animal was likely over 30 years old, stood about 2.3 meters tall at the hip, and weighed more than two and a half tonnes.
Other animal tracks found nearby show that the elephant was not alone. In the protected area of Calblanque, researchers documented a trail of small paired footprints belonging to a medium-sized carnivore, probably a member of the weasel family, moving slowly near water. A single footprint with visible claw marks points to the presence of a wolf-like predator in the same landscape.
The team also identified split-hoofed tracks consistent with red deer, all oriented in the same direction, suggesting herds moving through dunes and scrubland. In addition, footprints attributed to a young wild horse were found, representing the most recent evidence of this species in southeastern Iberia from this time period.
Together, these footprints paint a picture of a rich and diverse coastal ecosystem. The researchers believe that the shoreline of Murcia acted as an ecological corridor, allowing large animals to move seasonally between inland forests and coastal areas. These natural routes would have been especially important during wetter periods, when food and water were abundant.
The findings also have implications for understanding early human history. The proposed elephant migration routes along the coast closely overlap with known sites of Neanderthal occupation. This suggests that these coastal zones were not only important for animals, but also for human populations who may have followed herds or taken advantage of the same resource-rich environments.
By preserving a moment in time—captured in footprints rather than bones—Murcia’s fossil dunes offer a rare and direct connection to a lost world where giant elephants, wolves, deer, and early humans once shared the Mediterranean coast.
Source: KSR.
