Archaeologists Discover Prehistoric ‘Dance Floor’ Where Dinosaurs Courted Mates

Dinosaurs may have ruled the prehistoric world with their size and strength, but apparently, they also had moves.

A team of researchers in Colorado has uncovered one of the largest known dinosaur “dance arenas,” an ancient mating ground where male theropods likely performed ritualistic displays to attract females. 

Using high-resolution drone photography and 3D modeling at Dinosaur Ridge near Denver, the team identified dozens of clustered scrape marks in the sandstone — a prehistoric “dance floor” etched into the earth more than 100 million years ago.

The site builds on previous discoveries of similar scrape marks called leks, where male animals gather to compete for female attention. But this newly analyzed area suggests a massive congregation, with markings that scientists believe show not just nest displays but physical courtship performances.

“These trace fossils, we interpret them to be evidence of dinosaur courtship activities,” study co-author Caldwell Buntin of Old Dominion University told ABC News. “They likely built display nests and performed some kind of dance or scraping activity to impress mates, which are behaviors we still see in modern birds like plovers.”

The scrape marks belong to theropod dinosaurs, a group that includes raptors and the infamous T. rex. Based on the impressions, these dinosaurs stood around three to four feet at the hip and stretched up to 16 feet long. The patterns vary from shallow toe marks to deep bowl-shaped scrapes—even circular patterns hinting at dance-like movements.

The discovery, published in the latest research from Dinosaur Ridge, pushes our understanding of dinosaur behavior beyond hunting and migration. It also suggests that some mating rituals date back tens of millions of years and could be part of a deep evolutionary connection between dinosaurs and modern birds.

Perhaps best of all, the site is open to the public, meaning visitors can stand right where these ancient creatures showed off their best moves.

“It’s rare to find evidence of behavior, not just bones or tracks,” said co-author Neffra Matthews. “And it’s even rarer to find a site like this that people can actually go see for themselves.”

Turns out, dinosaurs weren’t just prehistoric predators. They may have been prehistoric showmen, too.