A new set of prehistoric animal footprints, thought to be 225 million years old, have been discovered between the border of Phetchabun and Khon Kaen.

The Department of Mineral Resources says a team led by Tida Liard, a palaeontologist, conducted an initial survey of the site last Wednesday after it received a report of animal footprints in Phu Pha Man National Park last year.

Ms Tida said the team found the five footprint tracks.

The first two sets of tracks belonged to a sauropod, a group of long-necked dinosaurs dating back to the late Triassic period, or between 225 to 220 million years ago. The footprints are the oldest animal footprints to be found in Thailand, she said.

Another two of the tracks were assumed to be the footprints of small creatures and the last set belonged to an archosaur reptile.

Ms Tida said the footprints of the archosaur are the most interesting because the details of the animal's paws appear on the stone, including the claws of both the front and back paws.

The team believes these are the footprints of an ancient animal as yet recorded in Thailand.

The team used a plastic sheet to collect the markings and more studies at the site are needed before the next rainy season, when the area floods and the team fears evidence could be washed away..