New papers on dinosaur tracks in Oryctos

[jigruiz@unizar.es]

The last issue of the French journal Oryctos contains ten papers on  
dinosaur footprints: http://www.dinosauria.org/oryctos.php

The issue 8 (2008) of Oryctos contains the proceedings of the  
"International Symposium on dinosaurs and other vertebrates  
Palaeoichnology" held at Fumanya (Barcelona province, Spain), October  
4-8th, 2005: http://usuarios.lycos.es/fumanyasymp05/

(the Abstract Book of the symposium is free at:  
http://www.icp.cat/docs/art_fumanya_symposium.pdf )

The titles and abstracts of the proceedings are in the web of the  
journal: http://www.dinosauria.org/oryctos-volume.php?volume=9

Those of Gierlinski & Sabath (2008), Gierlinski et al. (2008) and  
Dalla Vecchia (2008) were mentioned by Jerry D. Harris in October and  
November:
http://dml.cmnh.org/2008Oct/msg00193.html
http://dml.cmnh.org/2008Nov/msg00149.html
but the rest have not been mentioned in this list.

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Marco Avanzini & Paolo Mietto. Lower and Middle Triassic  
footprint-based Biochronology in the Italian Southern Alps. Oryctos 8,  
3-13.

The Early and Middle Triassic ichnoassociations of the Italian  
Southern Alps appear particularly important due to their excellent  
state of preservation and the ample vertical distribution of the dated  
trampled levels. On the basis of the ranges of single ichnotaxa, it is  
possible to define a series of different associations, characterized  
by different evolutionary stages. They correspond to informal  
evolutionary units that can be estabilished as faunal units (FUs). The  
Scythian is characterized by the presence of Rhynchosauroides  
schochardti that disappears in the Anisian. In the Anisian,  
characterized by the appearance of Rhynchosauroides tirolicus) a  
progressive increase in the complexity of the ichnoassociations from  
the Bithynian to the Illyrian is documented. In the Bithynian - Early  
Pelsonian interval the faunal assemblage is dominated by  
Parasynaptichnium gracilis and Synaptichnium pseudosuchoides. The  
Early Pelsonian - Early Illyrian interval is characterized by the  
dominance of Isochirotherium delicatum and Brachychirotherium  
circaparvum.
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Martin A. Whyte & Mike Romano. Dinosaur footprints associated with an  
ephemeral pool in the Middle Jurassic of Yorkshire, UK. Oryctos 8,  
15-27.

A thin mudstone intercalation within channel sandstones of the  
Saltwick Formation (Middle Jurassic) of the Cleveland area of  
Yorkshire shows a succession of invertebrate traces followed by  
dinosaur tracks and then shrinkage cracks. The tridactyl prints, all  
made by the same type of small bipedal dinosaur, show an interesting  
range of morphologies, including imprints of the metatarsal area,  
consistent with their having been made in soft cohesive mud of varying  
moisture content. Some of the tracks indicate that the foot was moved  
backwards during withdrawal. Such foot movement can also be observed  
in modern emu locomotion. The pattern of shrinkage cracks is partly  
controlled by the prints. This sequence is comparable to the sequence  
of traces and structures which have been observed in a recent  
ephemeral pool and is interpreted as having formed in a similar  
environment. Uniquely for the Yorkshire area, the prints and cracks  
are infilled by small, now sideritised, pellets possibly of  
invertebrate faecal origin.
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Gerard D. Gierlinski & Karol Sabath. Stegosaurian footprints from the  
Morrison Formation of Utah and their implications for interpreting  
other ornithischian tracks. Oryctos 8, 29-46.

The supposed stegosaurian track Deltapodus Whyte & Romano, 1994  
(Middle Jurassic of England) is sauropod-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 stegosaurian 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 footprints,  
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. Massive but short stegosaur forelimbs suggest  
primarily bipedal locomotion, and quadrupedal defense posture.

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Octávio Mateus & Jesper Milàn. Ichnological evidence for giant  
ornithopod dinosaurs in the Upper Jurassic Lourinhã Formation,  
Portugal. Oryctos 8, 47-52.

The Upper Jurassic Lourinhã Formation (Lusitanian Basin, Portugal)  
contains a diverse dinosaur fauna comprising theropods, sauropods,  
stegosaurs, ankylosaurs and several genera of ornithopods. The  
sedimentology in the area favours preservation of tracksways, and  
tracks from most of the dinosaurs are also represented by skeletal  
remains. During fieldwork in the summer of 2003 a new, large,  
tridactyl track was found at the beach of Vale Frades, approximately 6  
km north of Lourinhã (central west Portugal). The track was found  
together with a stegosaur track on a clay bed exposed within the  
intertidal zone. Due to the immediate danger of erosion, the track was  
collected and is now on display at Museu da Lourinhã. The track is 70  
cm long and 69 cm wide, the toes are short and broad, with indications  
of short blunt claws, and there is a high angle of divarication  
between the outer digits. The shape and dimensions of the track  
identifies it as deriving from an ornithopod dinosaur with an  
estimated hip height around three metres. Although very large  
ornithopods are known from the Cretaceous, the largest known Jurassic  
ornithopod is Camptosaurus from North America, and the largest known  
from Portugal is the camptosaurid Draconyx loureiroi. Neither of these  
reached the body size suggested by the new track. So far the track  
described herein is the only evidence for a Jurassic ornithopod of  
that size.

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Martin Lockley, José Carlos Garcia-Ramos, Laura Pinuela & Marco  
Avanzini. A review of vertebrate track assemblages from the Late  
Jurassic of Asturias, Spain with comparative notes on coeval  
ichnofaunas from the western USA: implications for faunal diversity in  
siliciclastic facies assemblages. Oryctos 8, 53-70.

Upper Jurassic tetrapod tracks from Asturias (Spain) are similar to  
those from the famous Morrison Formation of the Rocky Mountain Region  
(western USA). Both regions provide evidence of diverse faunas  
comprising dinosaurs (theropods, sauropods and ornithischians),  
pterosaurs, crocodilians and turtles which indicate faunas consistent  
with known skeletal remains. Almost all these groups are represented  
by at least two, if not as many as four or more, distinctive track  
morphotypes, giving a cumulative ichno-diversity of at least 12- 15  
ichnotaxa. At least half of these are diagnostic to the ichnogenus  
level. Thus, the ichnofaunas provide a useful, generalized census of  
the Upper Jurassic faunas in these regions. Although there are some  
ambiguities about the probable identities of the makers of some  
tridactyl tracks, both assemblages are remarkably similar in overall  
composition. Most differences between the ichnofaunas reflect subtle  
distinctions that reflect differences in size and diversity within the  
major track groups. Some differences can also be attributed to  
preservational factors. The Asturian assemblages is dominated by  
isolated specimens from cliff outcrops in a small area, whereas the  
Morrison ichnofaunas is based on in situ sites from a very large area  
of more than 500,000 km2.

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Marco Avanzini, Laura Pinuela & José Carlos Garcia-Ramos. Theropod  
Palaeopathology inferred from a Late Jurassic trackway, Asturias (N.  
Spain). Oryctos 8, 71-75.

Although references to traumas and illness in dinosaur bones are very  
frequent, there are few reports about pathologies of these reptiles  
through studies of isolated footprints and trackways, and the majority  
of these refer to limping dinosaurs. The example presented here refers  
to a short theropod trackway of four consecutive footprints, preserved  
as convex epireliefs. Anomalous arrangement of the fourth digit in the  
right pedal prints suggests a pathology, although we can not determine  
if it is malformation or trauma due to fracture. The similarity in the  
pace length and angle suggests that if it is a fracture, this was  
produced a long time before as there is no evidence of limping in the  
reptile gait.

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Vanda Faria dos Santos, Carlos Marques da Silva & Luís Azevedo  
Rodrigues. Dinosaur track sites from Portugal: Scientific and cultural  
significance. Oryctos 8, 77-88.

Dinosaur tracks in Portugal are known from Bajocian-Bathonian  
(Jurassic) through middle Cenomanian (Cretaceous) rocks. The  
Portuguese track record includes two outstanding Middle Jurassic track  
sites both in Central W Portugal: the Vale de Meios track site,  
showing dozens of parallel theropod trackways, and the Galinha site,  
where several long sauropod trackways can be seen. There are two other  
major areas with important dinosaur track sites: SW Algarve (S  
Portugal), Lower Cretaceous, and the Sesimbra region (Central W  
Portugal), Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous. Huge track sites such as  
the Vale de Meios and Galinha sites can not be excavated and removed  
into museums; therefore, they must be preserved in situ, to be studied  
and visited in their original geological context. Track sites such as  
these are important not only for their scientific, ichnological,  
significance; they are also valuable for science popularization and to  
stimulate public interest for the preservation of the  
geological/palaeontological heritage. In Portugal, in 1996 and 1997,  
five dinosaur track sites have been declared natural monuments. In  
such sites it is possible to teach and show Palaeontology, as well as  
other aspects of Earth sciences in their original geological context,  
to children from different school levels and to a broad public with  
different scientific backgrounds. Educational programmes for school  
children and the general public are paramount in order to elucidate  
them about dinosaurs and their tracks, but also to improve their  
attitude towards the scientific and cultural value of this  
palaeontological ichnoheritage. Educational activities are essential  
to the success of geoconservation. They boost public awareness, which,  
in turn, is fundamental for the protection and valorisation of the  
geological and palaeontological heritage. When local communities are  
conscious of the scientific and cultural value of the natural heritage  
in their home region they become proud of it and this fact  
dramatically increases the odds of its effective protection.  
Nevertheless, up until now the Galinha track site is the only  
Portuguese track site prepared to receive visitors and to offer them  
palaeontological educational programmes.

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Fabio M. Dalla Vecchia. The impact of dinosaur palaeoichnology in  
palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographic reconstructions: the case of  
the Periadriatic carbonate platforms. Oryctos 8, 89-106.

Knowledge of dinosaur footprints has greatly changed how scientists  
reconstruct the palaeoenvironment and palaeogeography of the Mesozoic  
carbonate platforms of the Periadriatic area (Italy, Slovenia and  
Croatia). Geologists considered those carbonate platforms as shallow  
marine, intraoceanic banks (i.e., surrounded by the Tethys Ocean)  
during Cretaceous times. The discovery in the last 20 years of  
dinosaur fossils, mainly footprints, in many places and at different  
stratigraphic levels has demonstrated that the ?shallow seas? were  
repeatedly or continuously populated by large terrestrial animals.  
Thus, the reconstructions of those carbonate platforms as a sort of  
Mesozoic ?Bahamas Banks? was incorrect. The new record allows also  
testing for congruence with palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographic  
reconstructions. Areas where dinosaur fossils have been found are  
always considered as ?shallow marine? in those reconstructions, very  
far away from continental areas during the Late Triassic and earliest  
Jurassic and surrounded by deep marine basins during Late Jurassic and  
Cretaceous times. The results of this research are a first step toward  
the understanding of those dinosaurs living ?at the border?, but are  
obviously preliminary and subject to confirmation or confutation with  
increased fossil sampling. The ichnological sample and the  
palaeogeographic reconstructions can also stimulate some reflections  
about the biology of the extinct dinosaurian clades and give some  
suggestions for the development of future research.

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Gerard D. Gierlinski, Izabela Ploch, Eugenia Gawor-Biedowa & Grzegorz  
Niedzwiedzki. The first evidence of dinosaur tracks in the Upper  
Cretaceous of Poland. Oryctos 8, 107-113.

A new theropod and ornithischian dinosaur track (Irenesauripus sp. and  
cf. Hadrosauropodus sp.) are reported from the Polish Cretaceous  
carbonate facies. The reported finds came from the Maastrichtian  
limestones, informal unit called Gaizes, exposed in the vicinity of  
the Roztocze National Park and represents isolated theropod pedal  
print and manuspes set left by hadrosaurid dinosaur. These are the  
first dinosaur track record in the Cretaceous of Poland.

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Bernat Vila, Oriol Oms, Josep Marmi & Àngel Galobart. Tracking Fumanya  
Footprints (Maastrichtian, Pyrenees): historical and ichnological  
overview. Oryctos 8, 115-130.

The Fumanya tracksites (SE Pyrenees, NE Iberian Peninsula) are among  
the most important Cretaceous dinosaur track localities in the world.  
These sites have remained largely unstudied until 15 years after their  
discovery. They provide an exceptional record of sauropod (titanosaur)  
ichnology with nearly 3,000 footprints arranged in more than 50  
trackways. The study of Fumanya sites is providing further refinements  
on titanosaur track morphology, stance, gauge and locomotion. Outcrop  
deterioration has deleted significant ichnological information that  
can be integrated in the present day dataset by means of the study of  
ancient pictures and measurements. Weathering and conservation studies  
provide conservation tools for the outcrop. The Fumanya site is  
integrated in a large Maastrichtian succession with plenty of other  
dinosaur remains (ichnites, bones and clutches) and other  
palaeoenvironmental indicators (plants, invertebrates, etc.). This  
reinforces the Vallcebre section as a key point to understand the  
diversity of the last European dinosaurs during the Maastrichtian and  
how their extinction took place.

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Jose Ignacio Ruiz-Omeñaca
Museo del Jurásico de Asturias (MUJA)
E-33328 Colunga, Spain
www.dinoastur.com
www.museojurasicoasturias.com
www.aragosaurus.com
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