The longest theropod trackway from East Asia,and a diverse sauropod-, theropod-, and ornithopod-track assemblage from the Lower Cretaceous Jiaguan Formation,southwest China |
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| Institution: | 1. School of the Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China;2. Naturhistorisches Museum Basel, Augustinergasse 2, CH-4001 Basel, Switzerland;3. Dinosaur Research Center of Zhucheng, Zhucheng 262200, China;4. Dinosaur Trackers Research Group, University of Colorado Denver, P.O. Box 173364, Denver, CO 80217, USA;5. Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China;6. Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Science, Beijing 100037, China;7. Key Laboratory of Ecology of Rare and Endangered Species and Environmental Protection, Ministry of Education, Guilin 541004, China;8. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, 11455 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E9, Canada;1. Dinosaur Trackers Research Group, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO 80217, USA;2. Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology, China Geological Survey, Qingdao 266071, China;3. Department of Environmental Sciences, Tokyo Gakugei University, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8501, Japan;4. School of the Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China;5. Beijing Museum of Natural History, Beijing, China;6. Shandong Provincial No.4 Institute of Geological and Mineral Resources, Weifang 261021, China;7. Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing, China |
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| Abstract: | Here we report a large dinosaur tracksite from an extensive fluvial sandstone surface in the Lower Cretaceous Jiaguan Formation of Sichuan Province, China. The site contains over 250 individual tracks comprising at least 18 recognizable trackways, including the longest theropod trackway (cf. Eubrontes) known from China. This exceptional theropod trackway consists of 81 successive footprints covering a distance of 69 m. The tracks are well-preserved and are expressed both as true tracks on the main “upper” surface and as transmitted undertracks on a locally exposed “lower” bed. Also recorded are six other theropod trackways, including small Grallator-like ichnites, eight sauropod trackways (cf. Brontopodus), and three small ornithopod (cf. Ornithopodichnus) trackways with a parallel orientation, which may indicate gregarious behavior. Several trackways of a larger theropod trackmaker show pes imprints with elongated traces of the metatarsals, suggesting extramorphological (substrate-controlled) variation and/or plantigrade posture, which is here interpreted as indicating a change in gait assumed in response to deep and soft sediment. The assemblage indicates a diverse dinosaur fauna in the Lower Cretaceous Sichuan Basin with variously sized theropods, sauropods, and ornithopods. The late occurrence of footprints of the Grallator-Eubrontes plexus in Lower Cretaceous strata is further evidence of the extended stratigraphic range of this morphotype and the distinct palaeobiogeographic distribution of these trackmakers in East Asia. |
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| Keywords: | Lower Cretaceous Jiaguan Formation China |
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