Ichnites in Pratbarrina

Ichnites or fossil footprints on a layer of a consolidated sandstone near Pratbarrina, west of mountain range of Castelltallat (Sant Mateu de Bages).
The image displays 3 footprints of a two toes foot, like those of a hypothetical giant pig. Many more ichnites from the same species are engraved on the rest of the exposed rock layer. Their outline is likely the result of the different mud softness when they were recorded. These footprints were traced by a group of Entelodon, a suiforme mammal that 30 million years ago was walking here. It used to be an animal related to the present wild boar, but much bigger and with a great skull.

[photo Jordi Badia]