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Matching dinosaur footprints found more than 3,700 miles apart, on different continents
A team of paleontologists found matching dinosaur footprints on what are now two different continents, separated by thousands of miles of ocean.
The footprints, dating back to the Early Cretaceous period, were found in Brazil and in Cameroon, researchers wrote in a study published Monday by the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. The discovery shows where land-dwelling dinosaurs were able to cross freely between South America and Africa before the two continents split apart millions of years ago.
Land shifts
The more than 260 footprints researchers studied were found impressed into mud and silt along ancient rivers and lakes, with more than 3,700 miles separating the ones in South America and Africa, according to the study. Paleontologists determined they were similar in age, shape and in geological and plate tectonic contexts.
Dinosaurs made the tracks 120 million years ago on a single supercontinent known as Gondwana, which had broken off from the larger landmass of Pangea — once the world’s only continent, Southern Methodist University paleontologist Louis Jacobs said.
“One of the youngest and narrowest geological connections between Africa and South America was the elbow of northeastern Brazil nestled against what is now the coast of Cameroon along the Gulf of Guinea,” Jacobs, the lead study author, said. “The two continents were continuous along that narrow stretch, so that animals on either side of that connection could potentially move across it.”
The continents now known as Africa and South America started to split around 140 million years ago, researchers said. The south Atlantic Ocean eventually filled the void.
Basins formed as the continents pulled apart; rivers flowed and lakes formed in those basins, Jacobs said. The basins where the footprints were discovered can be found on both sides of the split.
What we know about the dinosaurs
Most of the footprints were made by three-toed theropods, a group of carnivorous dinosaurs, researchers said. There were also prints left behind by sauropods or ornithischians.
“Plants fed the herbivores and supported a food chain,” Jacobs said. “Muddy sediments left by the rivers and lakes contain dinosaur footprints, including those of meat-eaters, documenting that these river valleys could provide specific avenues for life to travel across the continents 120 million years ago.”
Tupperware and some of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the once-iconic food container maker said in a statement late Tuesday.
The company has suffered from dwindling sales following a surprise surge during the COVID-19 pandemic, when legions of people stuck at home tried their hands at cooking, which increased demand for Tupperware’s colorful plastic containers with flexible airtight seals.
A post-pandemic rise in costs of raw materials and shipping, along with higher wages, also hurt Tupperware’s bottom line.
Last year, it warned of “substantial doubt” about its ability to keep operating in light of its poor financial position.
“Over the last several years, the Company’s financial position has been severely impacted by the challenging macroeconomic environment,” president and CEO Laurie Ann Goldman said in a statement announcing the bankruptcy filing.
“As a result, we explored numerous strategic options and determined this is the best path forward,” Goldman said.
The company said it would seek court approval for a sale process for the business to protect its brand and “further advance Tupperware’s transformation into a digital-first, technology-led company.”
The Orlando, Florida-based firm said it would also seek approval to continue operating during the bankruptcy proceedings and would continue to pay its employees and suppliers.
“We plan to continue serving our valued customers with the high-quality products they love and trust throughout this process,” Goldman said.
The firm’s shares were trading at $0.5099 Monday, well down from $2.55 in December last year.
Tupperware said it had implemented a strategic plan to modernize its operations and drive efficiencies to ignite growth following the appointment of a new management team last year.
“The Company has made significant progress and intends to continue this important transformation work.”
In its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Tupperware listed assets of between $500 million and $1 billion and liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion.
The filing also said it had between 50,000 and 100,000 creditors.
Tupperware lost popularity with consumers in recent years and an initiative to gain distribution through big-box chain Target failed to reverse its fortunes.
The company’s roots date to 1946, when chemist Earl Tupper “had a spark of inspiration while creating molds at a plastics factory shortly after the Great Depression,” according to Tupperware’s website.
“If he could design an airtight seal for plastic storage containers, like those on a paint can, he could help war-weary families save money on costly food waste.”
Over time, Tupper’s containers became popular that many people referred to any plastic food container as Tupperware. And people even threw “Tupperware parties” in their homes to sell the containers to friends and neighbors.
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