Paleontologists have identified more than 20 dinosaur and other vertebrate footprints on a rock wall in southwest China's Sichuan Province, a discovery they say sheds new light on early dinosaur evolution around 200 million years ago.

The tracks were found in the city of Dujiangyan by a hiker last month, and their authenticity was later confirmed by a research team led by Xing Lida, an associate professor at China University of Geosciences (Beijing). It is the first time dinosaur footprints have been reported in Dujiangyan.

Xing said these prints include theropod footprints of different sizes, left by meat-eating dinosaurs, as well as chirotherian-type tracks, which resemble a human hand and are attributed to early archosaur reptiles.

"What makes this site particularly valuable is that at least four layers preserve footprints, suggesting dinosaurs lived here for a long period," Xing explained.

Researchers also found pieces of petrified wood near these tracks, including fallen logs and upright stumps preserved in place, providing additional information about the nature of the local ecosystem more than 200 million years ago.

Jiang Shan, a researcher at the Zigong Dinosaur Museum in Sichuan, said this newly identified material can help scientists better understand the early evolutionary history of dinosaurs in China.