Large Dinosaurian Tracks from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Large Dinosaurian Tracks from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian Cretaceous Research 51 (2014) 186e207 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Cretaceous Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/CretRes Large dinosaurian tracks from the Upper Cretaceous (CenomanianeTuronian) portion of the Winton Formation, Lark Quarry, central-western Queensland, Australia: 3D photogrammetric analysis renders the ‘stampede trigger’ scenario unlikely * Anthony Romilio , Steven W. Salisbury School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia article info abstract Article history: The largest dinosaurian tracks at Lark Quarry, central-western Queensland, Australia, were re-examined Received 13 November 2013 using revised analytical protocols that incorporate three-dimensional (3D) structure. Comparisons were Accepted in revised form 8 June 2014 made with archival photographs, replica specimens (c. 1977) and the in situ tracks (2013) to account for Available online changes to the track surface. Damage caused both during and after the excavation of the tracks was evident, and in cases where the archival photographs and 1970's replicas strongly differ from the in situ Keywords: tracks, it is apparent that restoration has modified the original track morphology. Ichnology Even after accounting for recent damage and alteration, several of the track morphologies obtained Dinosaur tracks Winton Formation from new 3D evaluation models differ considerably from the track outlines that were published in the Cretaceous original description of the site. Compared with the new set of representations, some of the original Australia outlines seem to represent simpler, stylized versions of the tracks. A number of the original outlines are >20% larger than the in situ tracks, while others appear to incorporate cracks as part of the margin of digit impressions. Overall, the best-preserved tracks show blunt digit impressions, reaffirming the idea that the trackmaker was a large ornithopod and supporting a reassignment to cf. Iguanodontipus. The new analysis also reveals the nature of the displacement rims associated with the tracks, and the overprinting of these rims by other ichnitesdinitially by tool marks (presumably caused by floating vegetation) and then by other dinosaurian tracks (assignable to Wintonopus latomorum). In the context of these observations, we see no evidence for an interaction between the cf. Iguanodontipus trackmaker and the smaller-bodied W. latomorum trackmakers, as neither can be inferred to have been present at the tracksite at, or even close to the same time. Similarly, there is no evidence to support the idea that the approach of the cf. Iguanodontipus trackmaker in some way triggered the movement of the W. latomorum trackmakers. Rather than a snap-shot of dinosaurian ‘stampede’, this study supports the idea that Lark Quarry most likely represents a complex time-averaged assemblage of multiple dinosaurian ichnites, preserved over an extended period of time (hours to days) and bracketed by discrete phases of track- maker activity and fluctuations in water depth. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction the composition of dinosaurian communities and palaeoecology (Adams and Breithaupt, 2003; Matsukawa and Lockley, 2007). In Dinosaurian tracks and trackway data preserved in a single instances where several ichnotaxa are represented on the same bedding horizon have the potential to reveal information on the track surface, some researchers (e.g. Bird, 1954, 1985; Farlow et al., abundance and diversity of contemporaneous dinosaurian track- 2012) have also speculated on possible palaeobiological in- makers in a given area (Fastovsky and Smith, 2004; Matsukawa and teractions between trackmakers with similarly oriented trackways. Lockley, 2007). This information may in turn provide insights into However, the presence of multiple tracks on a track surface typi- cally indicates the formation of ichnites within a single recording period, and not necessarily the presence of multiple trackmakers at * Corresponding author. the same moment (Fastovsky and Smith, 2004). E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Romilio). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2014.06.003 0195-6671/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. A. Romilio, S.W. Salisbury / Cretaceous Research 51 (2014) 186e207 187 The Lark Quarry dinosaurian tracksite (within the Cen- omanianeTuronian portion of the Winton Formation), located 95 km south-west of Winton, central-western Queensland (Fig. 1), has multiple tracks assigned to different ichnotaxa. The tracks occur on a single track surface (Fig. 2), arousing speculations of possible interactions between the dinosaurian trackmakers (e.g. Thulborn and Wade, 1984; Paul, 1988; Lockley and Matsukawa, 1999; Roach and Brinkman, 2007; Thulborn, 2013). Numerous tracks have been interpreted as preserving evidence for the pres- ence of two types of small dinosaurian trackmakersdsmall-bodied ornithopods and theropodsdand a much larger bipedal dinosau- rian trackmaker, initially considered to be a theropod (Thulborn and Wade, 1984). Most of the trackways produced by the small- bodied dinosaurs have the same orientation, and it was originally speculated that their trackmakers formed a co-operative, mixed herd of more than 150 individuals caught up in a terrestrial stam- pede (Thulborn and Wade, 1984). Several alternative in- terpretations have also been proposed: the small-bodied theropodan trackmakers were an avian or near-avian species posing no threat to the co-herding ornithopodan trackmakers (Roach and Brinkman, 2007); the small-bodied theropodan track- makers were a threat and co-operatively hunted the herding ornithopodan trackmakers (Paul, 1988); some of the small-bodied trackmakers were swimming (Moreno et al., 2004; Romilio et al., 2013); the small-bodied trackmakers were either two types of theropods, two types of ornithopods, or “a single taxon of either group” (Matsukawa and Lockley, 2007: 30). Romilio et al. (2013) re- e evaluated the small dinosaurian tracks and concluded that the two Fig. 2. Lark Quarry tracksite, April 2013. Several of the largest tracks (tracks 4 7; R2eL4) are discernable, as are tool marks (tm) possibly caused by partially buoyed previously recognized ichnotaxa (i.e. Wintonopus latomorum and vegetation. Thousands of very small dinosaur tracks appear as numerous ‘pits’ over the © Skartopus australis) represented ichnomorphs (sensu Fastovsky and exposed surface. Photograph S. W. Salisbury. Smith, 2004) and not separate ichnotaxa, with all of these tracks being assignable to the ornithopodan ichnotaxon W. latomorum. The complex track patterns present at Lark Quarry had also led indicates the large-bodied trackmaker “was heading in the oppo- to speculation that the small-bodied dinosaurian trackmakers may site direction” (Thulborn, 2013:3)dand in some way “triggered” a have interacted or responded in some way to the presence of a stampede (Thulborn and Wade, 1984: 413, 443). This scenario re- much larger one (Thulborn and Wade, 1984). In the context of this quires the largest Lark Quarry tracks to have been formed at “about interpretation, the largest Lark Quarry trackmaker was considered the same time” as the small-bodied dinosaur traces (Thulborn and to have ‘approached’ the smaller trackmakers (Thulborn and Wade, Wade, 1984: 446). Thulborn and Wade (1984) described the largest 1984: 413, 443, 445, 455)deven though the trackway data tracks and those formed by small-bodied dinosaurian trackmakers Fig. 1. A, A map of north-eastern Australia, with the position of the Lark Quarry dinosaur tracksite (23.0161 S, 142.4114 E); B, Stratigraphy of the Eromanga Basin, central-western Queensland. Abbreviations: C.B., Carpenteria Basin; E.B., Eromanga Basin; S.B., Surat Basin; G.A.B., Great Artesian Basin; W.F., exposed Winton Formation; QLD, Queensland; NSW, New South Wales; SA, South Australia; NT, Northern Territory. Adapted from Romilio et al. (2013), Tucker et al. (2013: 1) and Berrell et al. (in press). 188 A. Romilio, S.W. Salisbury / Cretaceous Research 51 (2014) 186e207 as having been formed only when a period of subaqueous condi- and the overall interpretation of the site proposed by Thulborn and tions had lapsed, leaving the surface subaerially exposed. During Wade (1984) were correct. the inferred initial period of subaqueous exposure, partially buoyed While documenting tracks as 2D drawn outlines has been one of vegetation floated over the site, leaving a series of parallel drag the traditional methods employed in dinosaur ichnology, there is marks (tool marks). In this scenario, the tool marks are made prior no escaping the fact that the vast majority of tracks are 3D struc- to the large dinosaurian tracks. tures. Any representations of tracks in 2D means that information Romilio et al. (2013) examined the Lark Quarry dinosaurian relating to depth is subsequently lost or ‘compressed’, with the ichnites and concluded that the apparent en masse interactions of depicted outlines being reliant on the interpretation of the inves- the small-bodied dinosaurian trackmakersdwhich would be tigator, making them highly subjective (Bates et al., 2008b). necessary for a stampededas proposed by Thulborn and Wade Thulborn and Wade (1984) documented the largest Lark Quarry (1984), was highly unlikely. Instead, Romilio et al. (2013) pro- tracks using traditional methods of photography and drawn out- posed that different sized swim traces could be linked to likely lines. All the tracks were depicted in dorsal view as 2D outlines
Recommended publications
  • New Dinosaur Tracksites from the Sousa Lower Cretaceous Basin (Paraíba, Brasil)
    Studi Trent. Sci. Nat., Acta Geol., 81 (2004): 5-21 ISSN 0392-0534 © Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali, Trento 2006 New dinosaur tracksites from the Sousa Lower Cretaceous basin (Paraíba, Brasil) Giuseppe LEONARDI1* & MariadeFátimaC.F. DOS SANTOS2 1Istituto Cavansi, Dorsoduro 898, I-30123 Venezia, Italy 2Museu Câmara Cascudo, Avenida Hermes da Fonseca 1398, 59015-001 Natal – RN, Brasil *Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected] SUMMARY - New dinosaur tracksites from the Sousa Lower Cretaceous basin (Paraíba, Brasil) - During our 30th expedition to the Lower Cretaceous Rio do Peixe basins (Paraíba, Northeastern Brasil) the following new dinosaur tracksites were discovered: Floresta dos Borba (theropods, sauropods, ornithopods), Lagoa do Forno (theropods, sauropods), Lagoa do Forno II (one theropod), Várzea dos Ramos II (theropods), Várzea dos Ramos III (theropods). In the previously known sites the following new material was discovered: at Piau, a sauropod trackway; at Serrote do Letreiro a new theropod trackway; at Riacho do Cazé, some sauropod and theropod tracks; at Mãe d’Água, new sauropod, theropod and ornithopods footprints. At Fazenda Paraíso new theropod and sauropod tracks were discov- ered and a new map of the main rocky pavement including theropod tracks is provided here. The farms at Saguim de Cima, Várzea da Jurema, Tabuleiro, Catolé da Piedade (WNW of Sousa, in the Sousa Formation) and at Pau d’Arco (SE of Sousa, in the Piranhas Formation) were explored without results. RIASSUNTO - Nuove piste di dinosauri nel bacino di Sousa (Cretaceo inferiore, Paraíba, Brasile) - Durante la nostra 30ª spedizione ai bacini del Rio do Peixe (Cretaceo inferiore; Paraíba, Brasile nord orientale) sono stati sco- perti i seguenti nuovi siti con piste di dinosauri: Floresta dos Borba (teropodi, sauropodi, ornitopodi), Lagoa do Forno (teropodi, sauropodi), Lagoa do Forno II (un teropodo), Várzea dos Ramos II (teropodi), Várzea dos Ramos III (tero- podi).
    [Show full text]
  • An Ornithopod Tracksite from the Helvetiafjellet Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of Boltodden, Svalbard
    Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Universitetet i Oslo on January 11, 2016 The theropod that wasn’t: an ornithopod tracksite from the Helvetiafjellet Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of Boltodden, Svalbard JØRN H. HURUM1,2, PATRICK S. DRUCKENMILLER3, ØYVIND HAMMER1*, HANS A. NAKREM1 & SNORRE OLAUSSEN2 1Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, PO Box 1172, Blindern, 0318 Oslo, Norway 2The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), PO Box 156, 9171 Longyearbyen, Norway 3Department of Geosciences, University of Alaska Museum, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 907 Yukon Drive, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA *Corresponding author (e-mail: [email protected]) Abstract: We re-examine a Lower Cretaceous dinosaur tracksite at Boltodden in the Kvalva˚gen area, on the east coast of Spitsbergen, Svalbard. The tracks are preserved in the Helvetiafjellet For- mation (Barremian). A sedimentological characterization of the site indicates that the tracks formed on a beach/margin of a lake or interdistributary bay, and were preserved by flooding. In addition to the two imprints already known from the site, we describe at least 34 additional, pre- viously unrecognized pes and manus prints, including one trackway. Two pes morphotypes and one manus morphotype are recognized. Given the range of morphological variation and the pres- ence of manus tracks, we reinterpret all the prints as being from an ornithopod rather than a thero- pod, as previously described. We assign the smaller (morphotype A, pes; morphotype B, manus) to Caririchnium billsarjeanti. The larger (morphotype C, pes) track is assigned to Caririchnium sp., differing in size and interdigital angle from the two described ichnospecies C. burreyi and C.
    [Show full text]
  • An Overview of the Lower Cretaceous Dinosaur Tracksites from the Mirambel Formation in the Iberian Range (Ne Spain)
    Khosla, A. and Lucas, S.G., eds., 2016, Cretaceous Period: Biotic Diversity and Biogeography. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 71. 65 AN OVERVIEW OF THE LOWER CRETACEOUS DINOSAUR TRACKSITES FROM THE MIRAMBEL FORMATION IN THE IBERIAN RANGE (NE SPAIN) D. CASTANERA1, I. DÍAZ-MARTÍNEZ2, M. MORENO-AZANZA3, J.I. CANUDO4, AND J.M. GASCA4 1 Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie and GeoBioCenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333 Munich, Germany. [email protected]; 2 CONICET - Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología, Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, General Roca 1242, 8332 General Roca, Río Negro, [email protected]; 3 Departamento de Ciências da Terra, Geobiotec. Departamento de Ciências da Terra. Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-526. Caparica, Portugal. Museu da Lourinhã. [email protected]; 4 Grupo Aragosaurus-IUCA, Paleontología, Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Zaragoza, Calle Pedro Cerbuna, 12, 50009, Zaragoza, Spain. [email protected]; [email protected] Abstract—Up to now, the ichnological vertebrate record from the Barremian Mirambel Formation (NE Spain) has remained completely unknown despite the fact that osteological findings have been reported in recent years. Here we provide an overview of 11 new dinosaur tracksites found during a fieldwork campaign in the year 2011. The majority of these tracksites (seven) preserve small- to medium-sized tridactyl tracks here assigned to indeterminate theropods. Only one footprint presents enough characters to classify it as Megalosauripus isp. Ornithopod tracks identified asCaririchnium isp. and Iguanodontipodidae indet.
    [Show full text]
  • A Review of Large Cretaceous Ornithopod Tracks, with Special Reference to Their Ichnotaxonomy
    bs_bs_banner Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 113, 721–736. With 5 figures A review of large Cretaceous ornithopod tracks, with special reference to their ichnotaxonomy MARTIN G. LOCKLEY1*, LIDA XING2, JEREMY A. F. LOCKWOOD3 and STUART POND3 1Dinosaur Trackers Research Group, University of Colorado at Denver, CB 172, PO Box 173364, Denver, CO 80217-3364, USA 2School of the Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China 3Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK Received 30 January 2014; revised 12 February 2014; accepted for publication 13 February 2014 Trackways of ornithopods are well-known from the Lower Cretaceous of Europe, North America, and East Asia. For historical reasons, most large ornithopod footprints are associated with the genus Iguanodon or, more generally, with the family Iguanodontidae. Moreover, this general category of footprints is considered to be sufficiently dominant at this time as to characterize a global Early Cretaceous biochron. However, six valid ornithopod ichnogenera have been named from the Cretaceous, including several that are represented by multiple ichnospecies: these are Amblydactylus (two ichnospecies); Caririchnium (four ichnospecies); Iguanodontipus, Ornithopodichnus originally named from Lower Cretaceous deposits and Hadrosauropodus (two ichnospecies); and Jiayinosauropus based on Upper Cretaceous tracks. It has recently been suggested that ornithopod ichnotaxonomy is oversplit and that Caririchnium is a senior subjective synonym of Hadrosauropodus and Amblydactylus is a senior subjective synonym of Iguanodontipus. Although it is agreed that many ornithopod tracks are difficult to differentiate, this proposed synonymy is questionable because it was not based on a detailed study of the holotypes, and did not consider all valid ornithopod ichnotaxa or the variation reported within the six named ichnogenera and 11 named ichnospecies reviewed here.
    [Show full text]
  • Projeto Geoparques Geoparque Rio Do Peixe
    PROJETO GEOPARQUES GEOPARQUE RIO DO PEIXE – PB PROPOSTA 2017 MINISTÉRIO DE MINAS E ENERGIA - MME Fernando Coelho Filho Ministro de Estado Paulo Pedrosa Secretário Executivo SECRETARIA DE GEOLOGIA, MINERAÇÃO E TRANSFORMAÇÃO MINERAL - SGM Vicente Humberto Lôbo Cruz Secretário de Geologia, Mineração e Transformação Mineral SERVIÇO GEOLÓGICO DO BRASIL - CPRM DIRETORIA EXECUTIVA Esteves Pedro Colnago Diretor-Presidente Antônio Carlos Bacelar Nunes Diretor de Hidrologia e Gestão Territorial – DHT José Leonardo Silva Andriotti Diretor de Geologia e Recursos Minerais – DGM Esteves Pedro Colnago Diretor de Relações Institucionais e Desenvolvimento – DRI Juliano de Souza Oliveira Diretor de Administração e Finanças – DAF PROGRAMA GEOLOGIA DO BRASIL LEVANTAMENTO DA GEODIVERSIDADE Departamento de Gestão Territorial – DEGET Jorge Pimentel – Chefe Divisão de Gestão Territorial – DIGATE Maria Adelaide Mansini Maia – Chefe Coordenação do Projeto Geoparques Coordenação Nacional Carlos Schobbenhaus Coordenação Regional Rogério Valença Ferreira Unidade Regional Executora do Projeto Geoparques Superintendência Regional de Recife Sérgio Maurício Coutinho Corrêa de Oliveira Superintendente Robson de Carlo da Silva Gerente de Hidrologia e Gestão Territorial Maria de Fátima Lyra de Brito Gerente de Geologia e Recursos Minerais Carlos Eduardo Oliveira Dantas Gerente de Relações Institucionais e Desenvolvimento MINISTÉRIO DE MINAS E ENERGIA SECRETARIA DE GEOLOGIA, MINERAÇÃO E TRANSFORMAÇÃO MINERAL SERVIÇO GEOLÓGICO DO BRASIL – CPRM Projeto Geoparques GEOPARQUE
    [Show full text]
  • The First Possible Choristoderan Trackway from the Lower
    www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN The frst possible choristoderan trackway from the Lower Cretaceous Daegu Formation of South Korea and its implications on choristoderan locomotion Yuong‑Nam Lee1*, Dal‑Yong Kong2 & Seung‑Ho Jung2 Here we report a new quadrupedal trackway found in the Lower Cretaceous Daegu Formation (Albian) in the vicinity of Ulsan Metropolitan City, South Korea, in 2018. A total of nine manus‑pes imprints show a strong heteropodous quadrupedal trackway (length ratio is 1:3.36). Both manus and pes tracks are pentadactyl with claw marks. The manus prints rotate distinctly outward while the pes prints are nearly parallel to the direction of travel. The functional axis in manus and pes imprints suggests that the trackmaker moved along the medial side during the stroke progressions (entaxonic), indicating weight support on the inner side of the limbs. There is an indication of webbing between the pedal digits. These new tracks are assigned to Novapes ulsanensis, n. ichnogen., n. ichnosp., which are well‑matched not only with foot skeletons and body size of Monjurosuchus but also the fossil record of choristoderes in East Asia, thereby N. ulsanensis could be made by a monjurosuchid‑like choristoderan and represent the frst possible choristoderan trackway from Asia. N. ulsanensis also suggests that semi‑aquatic choristoderans were capable of walking semi‑erect when moving on the ground with a similar locomotion pattern to that of crocodilians on land. South Korea has become globally famous for various tetrapod footprints from Cretaceous strata1, among which some clades such as frogs2, birds3 and mammals4 have been proved for their existences only with ichnological evidence.
    [Show full text]
  • Paleoicnología De Dinosaurios 1
    Paleoicnología de dinosaurios 1 PALEOICNOLOGIA DE DINOSAURIOS José Ignacio CANUDO SANAGUSTIN y Gloria CUENCA BESCÓS José I. CANUDO y Gloria CUENCA Paleoicnología de dinosaurios 2 INDICE Introducción El inicio de la Paleoicnología de dinosaurios La conservación de las icnitas - Medio sedimentario - Propiedades del substrato - Subimpresiones - Otras conservaciones La morfología de las icnitas - Anatomía - El substrato - Comportamiento - La conservación como subimpresiones El estudio de las icnitas de dinosaurios - Documentación y excavación de yacimientos con icnitas de dinosaurios - Describiendo icnitas y rastros de dinosaurios - Midiendo icnitas y rastros de dinosaurios - Variación en la morfología de las icnitas - Ilustrando icnitas de dinosaurio Principales tipos de icnitas de dinosaurios - Grandes terópodos. “Carnosaurios” - Pequeños terópodos “Coelurosaurios” - Ornitomimidos - Saurópodos - Prosaurópodos - Pequeños ornitópodos - Iguanodóntidos - Hadrosáuridos El tamaño deducido a partir de las icnitas Modo de andar de los dinosaurios - Dinosaurios bípedos - Dinosaurios semibípedos - Dinosaurios cuadrúpedos Calculando la velocidad de los dinosaurios - Velocidad relativa - Métodos de calculo de la velocidad absoluta - La velocidad de los dinosaurios La asociación de icnitas de dinosaurios - Asociación de icnitas de dinosaurio sin orientación aparente - Asociación con dos direcciones preferentes - Asociación con un solo sentido. Megayacimientos José I. CANUDO y Gloria CUENCA Paleoicnología de dinosaurios 3 - Estructura de las comunidades
    [Show full text]
  • Lower Cretaceous Avian-Dominated, Theropod
    Lower cretaceous avian-dominated, theropod, thyreophoran, pterosaur and turtle track assemblages from the Tugulu Group, Xinjiang, China: ichnotaxonomy and palaeoecology Lida Xing1,2, Martin G. Lockley3, Chengkai Jia4, Hendrik Klein5, Kecheng Niu6, Lijun Zhang7, Liqi Qi8, Chunyong Chou2, Anthony Romilio9, Donghao Wang2, Yu Zhang2, W Scott Persons10 and Miaoyan Wang2 1 State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geoscience (Beijing), Beijing, China 2 School of the Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geoscience (Beijing), Beijing, China 3 Dinosaur Trackers Research Group, University of Colorado at Denver, Denver, United States 4 Research Institute of Experiment and Detection of Xinjiang Oil Company, PetroChina, Karamay, China 5 Saurierwelt Paläontologisches Museum, Neumarkt, Germany 6 Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum, Nan’an, China 7 Institute of Resources and Environment, Key Laboratory of Biogenic Traces & Sedimentary Minerals of Henan Province, Collaborative Innovation Center of Coalbed Methane and Shale Gas for Central Plains Economic Region, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, China 8 Faculty of Petroleum, China University of Petroleum (Beijing) at Karamay, Karamay, China 9 School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia 10 Mace Brown Museum of Natural History, Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, College of Charleston, Charleston, United States ABSTRACT Rich tetrapod ichnofaunas, known for more than a decade, from the Huangyangquan Reservoir (Wuerhe District, Karamay City, Xinjiang) have been an abundant source Submitted 10 January 2021 of some of the largest Lower Cretaceous track collections from China. They originate Accepted 26 April 2021 from inland lacustrine clastic exposures of the 581–877 m thick Tugulu Group, 28 May 2021 Published variously divided into four formations and subgroups in the northwestern margin of Corresponding author the Junggar Basin.
    [Show full text]
  • Stegosaurian Footprints from the Morrison Formation of Utah and Their Implications for Interpreting Other Ornithischian Tracks Gerard D
    Stegosaurian footprints from the Morrison Formation of Utah and their implications for interpreting other ornithischian tracks Gerard D. Gierliński and Karol Sabath Polish Geological Institute, Rakowiecka 4, 00-975 Warsaw, Poland. e-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT - The supposed stegosaurian track Deltapodus Whyte & Romano, 1994 (Middle Jurassic of England) is sauro- pod-like, elongate and plantigrade, but many blunt-toed, digitigrade, large ornithopod-like footprints (including pedal print cast associated with the manus of Stegopodus Lockley & Hunt, 1998) from the Upper Jurassic of Utah, better fit the stego- saurian foot pattern. The Morrison Formation of Utah yielded other tracks fitting the dryomorph (camptosaur) foot pattern (Dinehichnus Lockley et al., 1998) much better than Stegopodus. If the Stegopodus pedal specimen (we propose to shift the emphasis from the manus to the pes in the revised diagnosis of this ichnotaxon) and similar ichnites are proper stegosaur foot- prints, Deltapodus must have been left by another thyreophoran trackmaker. Other Deltapodus-like (possibly ankylosaurian) tracks include Navahopus Baird,1980 and Apulosauripus Nicosia et al., 1999. Heel-dominated, short-toed forms within the Navahopus-Deltapodus-Apulosauripus plexus differ from the gracile, relatively long-toed Tetrapodosaurus Sternberg, 1932, traditionally regarded as an ankylosaurian track. Thus, the original interpretation of the latter as a ceratopsian track might be correct, supporting early (Aptian) appearance of ceratopsians in North America. Isolated pedal ichnites from the Morrison Formation (with a single tentatively associated manus print, and another one from Poland) and the only known trackways with similar footprints (Upper Jurassic of Asturias, Spain) imply bipedal gait of their trackmakers. Thus, problems with stegosaur tracks possibly stem from the expectation of their quadrupedality.
    [Show full text]
  • Back Matter (PDF)
    Index Page numbers in italic denote figures. Page numbers in bold denote tables. Aachenia sp. [gymnosperm] 211, 215, 217 selachians 251–271 Abathomphalus mayaroensis [foraminifera] 311, 314, stratigraphy 243 321, 323, 324 ash fall and false rings 141 actinopterygian fish 2, 3 asteroid impact 245 actinopterygian fish, Sweden 277–288 Atlantic opening 33, 128 palaeoecology 286 Australosomus [fish] 3 preservation 280 autotrophy 89 previous study 277–278 avian fossils 17 stratigraphy 278 study method 281 bacteria 2, 97, 98, 106 systematic palaeontology 281–286 Balsvik locality, fish 278, 279–280 taphonomy and biostratigraphy 286–287 Baltic region taxa and localities 278–280 Jurassic palaeogeography 159 Adventdalen Group 190 Baltic Sea, ice flow 156, 157–158 Aepyornis [bird] 22 barite, mineralization in bones 184, 185 Agardhfjellet Formation 190 bathymetry 315–319, 323 see also depth Ahrensburg Glacial Erratics Assemblage 149–151 beach, dinosaur tracks 194, 202 erratic source 155–158 belemnite, informal zones 232, 243, 253–255 algae 133, 219 Bennettitales 87, 95–97 Amerasian Basin, opening 191 leaf 89 ammonite 150 root 100 diversity 158 sporangia 90 amniote 113 benthic fauna 313 dispersal 160 benthic foraminifera 316, 322 in glacial erratics 149–160 taxa, abundance and depth 306–310 amphibian see under temnospondyl 113–122 bentonite 191 Andersson, Johan G. 20, 25–26, 27 biostratigraphy angel shark 251, 271 A˚ sen site 254–255 angiosperm 4, 6, 209, 217–225 foraminifera 305–312 pollen 218–219, 223 palynology 131 Anomoeodus sp. [fish] 284 biota in silicified
    [Show full text]
  • Ichnotaxonomy of the Eocene Green River Formation
    Ichnotaxonomy of the Eocene Green River Formation, Soldier Summit and Spanish Fork Canyon, Uinta Basin, Utah: Interpreting behaviors, lifestyles, and erecting the Cochlichnus Ichnofacies By © 2018 Joshua D. Hogue B.S. Old Dominion University, 2013 Submitted to the graduate degree program in Geology and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Chair: Dr. Stephen T. Hasiotis Dr. Paul Selden Dr. Georgios Tsoflias Date Defended: May 1, 2018 ii The thesis committee for Joshua D. Hogue certifies that this is the approved version of the following thesis: Ichnotaxonomy of the Eocene Green River Formation, Soldier Summit and Spanish Fork Canyon, Uinta Basin, Utah: Interpreting behaviors, lifestyles, and erecting the Cochlichnus Ichnofacies Chair: Dr. Stephen T. Hasiotis Date Approved: May 1, 2018 iii ABSTRACT The Eocene Green River Formation in the Uinta Basin, Utah, has a diverse ichnofauna. Nineteen ichnogenera and 26 ichnospecies were identified: Acanthichnus cursorius, Alaripeda lofgreni, c.f. Aquatilavipes isp., Aulichnites (A. parkerensis and A. tsouloufeidos isp. nov.), Aviadactyla (c.f. Av. isp. and Av. vialovi), Avipeda phoenix, Cochlichnus (C. anguineus and C. plegmaeidos isp. nov.), Conichnus conichnus, Fuscinapeda texana, Glaciichnium liebegastensis, Glaroseidosichnus ign. nov. gierlowskii isp. nov., Gruipeda (G. fuenzalidae and G. gryponyx), Midorikawapeda ign. nov. semipalmatus isp. nov., Planolites montanus, Presbyorniformipes feduccii, Protovirgularia dichotoma, Sagittichnus linki, Treptichnus (T. bifurcus, T. pedum, and T. vagans), and Tsalavoutichnus ign. nov. (Ts. ericksonii isp. nov. and Ts. leptomonopati isp. nov.). Four ichnocoenoses are represented by the ichnofossils—Cochlichnus, Conichnus, Presbyorniformipes, and Treptichnus—representing dwelling, feeding, grazing, locomotion, predation, pupation, and resting behaviors of organisms in environments at and around the sediment-water-air interface.
    [Show full text]
  • Los Hadrosaurios (Ornithopoda, Hadrosauroidea)
    ARTÍCULO CIENTÍFICO Ramírez-Velasco- Hadrosaurios de México - 105-147 LOS HADROSAURIOS (ORNITHOPODA, HADROSAUROIDEA) MEXICANOS: UNA REVISIÓN CRÍTICA THE MEXICAN HADROSAURS (ORNITHOPODA, HADROSAUROIDEA): A CRITICAL REVIEW Ángel Alejandro Ramírez Velasco1* 1Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito de la investigación s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, Ciudad de México, 04510. *Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 2021-02-05. Accepted: 2021-05-11. Abstract.—This manuscript provides an updated overview of the knowledge about Mexico's hadrosaurs through the critical review of 175 publications between 1913 and 2019, which report osteological, icnological, tegumentary, dental and oological remains of these organisms. The data were synthesized and analyzed using traditional statistical methods, accumulation curves and sampling efforts. In addition, a catalogue of 166 paleontological sites belonging to 18 geological units is provided, whose ages are between the Albian and the Maastrichtian, in the states of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Puebla and Michoacán. The data collected recognize a comparatively low taxonomic diversity with respect to the rest of North America, even though the study of these dinosaurs began systematically since the 80's in Mexico. Only five species have been described from bony remains and a single icnospecies, whereas other remains have been only vaguely identified. The review of the history of the study of hadrosaurs in Mexico, as well as the curves of the corresponding sampling effort, suggest that these dinosaurs were diverse and abundant in this country and distinct from the rest of America. Key words.— Cretaceous, bone remains, fossil record, ichnites. Resumen.— Este trabajo ofrece un panorama actualizado sobre los hadrosaurios de México a través de la revisión crítica de 175 publicaciones aparecidas entre 1913 y 2019, donde se reportan restos de naturaleza ósea, icnológica, tegumentaria, dental y oológica de estos organimos.
    [Show full text]