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Les Traces De Pas De Dinosaures Et Autres Archosaures Du Lias Inferieur Des Grands Causses, Sud De La France

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Les Traces De Pas De Dinosaures Et Autres Archosaures Du Lias Inferieur Des Grands Causses, Sud De La France LES TRACES DE PAS DE DINOSAURES ET AUTRES ARCHOSAURES DU LIAS INFERIEUR DES GRANDS CAUSSES, SUD DE LA FRANCE par Georges DEMATHIEU*, Georges GAND*, Jacques SCIAU** et Pierre FREYTET*** avec la contribution de Jacques GARRIC**** SOMMAIRE Page Résumé, Abstract 3,4 Introduction 5 1. Situation, organisation et âges des formations ichnitifères .................. , ... , ..... 6 A. Situation géographique ..................................................... 6 B. Localisation des niveaux d'ichnites dans la série du Lias inférieur .......... , .... , . , .. 6 C. Ages de la série à ichnites ................................................... 9 II. Les gîtes à ichnites : présentation et détermination des empreintes ..................... Il A. Définitions relatives aux empreintes et aux pistes ................................. Il 1. Morphologies et statistiques descriptives ...................................... 12 2. Analyses multivariées (ACP, AD et AFC) des variables-caractères des ichnoespèces de référence ................................................. 12 a. ACP, AD et AFC des variables-caractères (valeurs brutes) ....................... 15 b. ACP, AD et AFC des rapports des variables-caractères .......................... 17 C. Résultats .................................................................. 18 1. A l'échelle de chaque site ................ " .................................. 18 2. A l'échelle des Causses ..................................................... 63 a. Données des analyses multivariées. Comparaison avec les critères morphologiques 63 L'AFC et l'AD ....................................................... 65 * UMR 5561 du CNRS: Biogéosciences, Université de Bourgogne, Centre des Sciences de la Terre, 6 Bd Gabriel, 21000 Dijon (France); e-mail: [email protected] ** 643 avenue Kennedy, 12100 Millau (France). *** Laboratoire de Paléobotanique et de Paléoécologie, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris VI, 75005 Paris et 41 rue des Vaux Mourants, 91370 Verrières-les-Buissons. **** 16 rue des Azalées, la Chamberte, 34070 Montpellier. Mots-clés: Traces dinosauroïdes, analyses statistiques, Stratigraphie, paléoenvironnements, Hettango­ Sinémurien, Grands-Causses, France Key-words: Dinosauroid footprints, statistical results, ichnostratigraphy, paleoenvironments, Hettangian­ Sinemurian. Grands-Causses, France Palaeovertebrata, Montpellier, 31 (1-4): 1-143,69 fig., 30 tabL. 20 pl. (Reçu le 14 Décembre 2001, accepté le 25 Juillet 2002, publié le 15 Décembre 2002) b. Données concernant les intervalles de confiance des moyennes des rapports de longueurs. 68 c. Bilan .............................................. , . 71 D. Comparaison avec les autres gîtes du Lias inférieur , ........ , , ..... , .. ' .......... , . 71 1. Lias français .................................. , ........... , . 7 1 2. Autres contrées ......... , ........... , .................... , . , . 74 a. Hettangien du Massachusetts et du Connecticut .... , ................... , . 74 b. Lias inférieur du Colorado, de Hongrie, d'Iran, du Maroc, d'Italie et de Pologne 75 III. Ichnologie systématique et attributions paléontologiques . 77 A. Ichnologie ................................... , ....................... , . 77 1. Traces crocodiloïdes; ichnogenre Batrachopl/s HITCHCOCK, 1845 . 77 2. Traces dinosauroïdes ....... , . , .... , . 78 a. Ichnogenre Grallator HITCHCOCK, 1858, émendé dans ce travail .................. , 78 al. Grallator variabilis LAPPARENT de & MONTENAT, 1967 . 79 a2. Gral/ator sallclierensis DEMATHIEU & SCIAU, 1992 ' . 79 a3. Grallator lescl/rei DEMATHIEU, 1990 .. , ......... , ............ , ..... , . 80 a4. Grallator minl/scl/ll/s (HITCHCOCK, 1858), émendé dans ce travail . 81 b. Ichnogeme Dilophosal/ripl/s WELLES, 1971 . , . 82 c. Ichnogenre El/brontes HITCHCOCK, 1845 ........................ , ........... , 83 Ichnoespèce-type : EubrollIes gigante//S (HITCHCOCK, 1845) . 83 d. cf. Moraesichnium . 84 e. Principaux caractères permettant de différencier les ichnoespèces G. variabilis, G. sauclierensis, G. Lescurei, G. miullsculus, E. gigallteus et Dilophosauripus williams; 85 3, traces ornithoïdes .............................. , ...... , ..... , ........ , . 86 a. Omithopl/sjabrei nov. ichnosp.; Omithoplls sp. 86 b. cf. Trisauropodiscus et/ou cf. Anomoepus . 87 4. Incertae Sedis ................................. , . 87 B. Essais d'attribution paléontologique ... , ...................... , . 87 1. Les auteurs des traces de pieds pentadactyles: Batrachopus delVeyi (HITCHCOCK, 1843) .... , ........................... , . 87 2. Les auteurs des traces de pieds tridactyles: Théropodes ou Ornithischiens ? ....... , . 88 a. Cas des traces tridactyles Gral/ator, Dilophosauripl/s et Elibrontes . 88 al. Comparaison entre la structure osseuse des squelettes du Lias et celle déduites des ichnites, structure des griffes et angulation des orteils II-IV ......... , . 88 a2. Comparaison ostéométrique des phalanges pédieuses déduites des traces et mesurés sur les squelettes , ....... , , . , ...... , ..... , . 90 b. Les auteurs de Gral/ator, d'El/brontes et de Dilophosallriplls des Causses appartenaient-ils à une même espèce? . 95 c. Cas de cf. Moraesicllllillm . .. .. .. .. .. ....... ,......................... 96 3. Les auteurs des traces de pieds tri et/ou tétradactyles Omithoplls jabrei nov ichnosp. : Théropodes aviformes ? ....... , . 97 4. Silhouettes et dimensions des Dinosaures caussenards estimées à partir des éléments de la piste. Comparaisons avec les squelettes ............... , . 97 a. Les Théropodes : ichnopoïètes de Grallator, Dilophosallripus et El/brontes . 97 b. Les ichnopoïètes de Omithopus jabrei nOv ichnosp. 99 IV. Conséquences stratigraphiques, paléoenvironnementales et paléobiologiques . 99 A. Conséquences stratigraphiques ............ , .. , , .................... , .. , . , , . 99 1. Répartition verticale ............... , ...................... , . 99 2. Comparaison avec les ichnozones comprises du Trias supérieur au Pliensbachien . 99 2 B. Conséquences paléozoologiques ............................................. 100 C. Les paléoenvironnements physique et biologique; le climat ........................ lOI 1. Le paysage physique ...................................................... 101 a. Données sédimentologiques ............................................. lOI b. Données déduites de l'étude pétrographique des aires à empreintes .............. lOI 2. Le paysage biologique ............................................... 107 a. Données relatives aux invertébrés et à la végétation .......... , , ........ , ..... 107 b. Données déduites de l'étude des surfaces à traces de Reptiles. Essai de paléobiologie dans le "marais maritime" ......................... , ......................... ,. 108 c. Problème posé par l'absence (actuelle ?) des traces d'herbivores .................. III d. Remarques sur la locomotion des Théropodes ................................ 114 Conclusion ............................................................... 114 Remerciements .. .......................... , ....... , .......................... 118 Références ................................................................... 120 Tableaux ................................................................... 129 Légendes des planches 142 RESUME Les Causses correspondent à Un vaste plateau du sud du Massif Central, de près de 3400 km2. Ils ont fourni, depuis la découverte des premières empreintes de pas de Dinosaures en 1935, un nombre croissant de ces ichnites atteignant présentement plus de 500 spécimens. Ces traces de pieds tridactyles et tétradactyles, d'animaux majoritairement bipèdes, de longueur allant de 15 à 50 cm, ont été trouvés à la surface de dolomies datées de l'Hettangien inférieur au Sinémurien supérieur. Dans 4 unités stratigraphiques distinctes, les empreintes ont été observées dans 35 sites, essentiellement localisées sur la bordure extérieur du Plateau. Les caractères morphologiques ont permis d'abord de décomposer l'ensemble des traces de bipèdes en 8 ichnoespèces dont les définitions ont été fondées sur une double étude statistique: 1) descriptive avec les paramètres habituels, 2) multivariées avec l'Analyse en Composantes Principales (ACP), l'Analyse Factorielle des Correspondances (AFC) et l'Analyse Discriminante (AD). Les résultats ont conforté les observations morphologiques et les ont complétées. Gral/ator variabilis, G. sal/elierellsis, G. lescl/rei, G. minusculus, Eubrontes giganfeus, Dilophosauripus williams;, OrnitilOpus fabrei nov. ichnosp. ont été ainsi distinguées. Les différences les plus visibles immédiatement, portent essentiellement sur l'angle interdigital II-IV, la largeur des doigts, les griffes, le rapport de la longueur à la largeur. A cette liste, il faut ajouter Batrachopus deweyi et des formes évoquant Trisauropodiscus et/ou Allomoepus. Parmi toutes les associations d'ichnites décrites dans le Lias inférieur, c'est avec celle des USA que la nôtre a le plus d'affinités. Elle partage les taxons Grallator-Dilophosauripus-Eubrontes-Batrachichllus, sans oublier Omithopus labrei nov. ichnosp. proche d'Omithopl/s gallillacells des bassins du Connecticut et du Massachusets. Si l'on compare l'ichnofaune du Jurassique basal des Causses à celle des Formations du Trias Moyen et Supérieur de la bordure orientale du Massif Central, on constate que dans celles-ci, les empreintes de Dinosaures tridactyles font une timide apparition par de faibles effectifs de petite taille. Ceux-ci augmentent rapidement, en nombre et
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