Fossilized crane footprints found

CENICERO, Spain, April 30 (UPI) -- Scientists say 25-million-year-old fossil footprints found in northern Spain were made by a previously unknown species of bird in the crane family.

Based on the footprints found in the La Rioja region of the country, the species has been named Uvaichnites riojana, ThinkSpain reported Monday.

The tridactyle or three-toed bird is an "important discovery" in scientific terms, the Spanish researchers said.

Although there is very little evidence of the presence of this family of birds on the Iberian Peninsula, the finding could confirm the presence of cranes from the early Miocene period, Felix Perez Lorente of La Rioja University said.

The central toe of Uvaichnites riojana is about 4 inches long, suggesting the bird would have been "relatively large," he said.

The footprints were discovered during construction work on a cellar in the town of Cenicero, where 14 blocks of sandstone with fossilized footprints from numerous different vertebrates were found, researchers said.