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Re: Giant theropod footprints in Morocco
Wow!
Thanks for this. What especially blows me away is that these are all from the
Upper Jurassic--exciting!
--- On Thu, 9/3/09, El PaleoFreak <saichania@gmail.com> wrote:
> From: El PaleoFreak <saichania@gmail.com>
> Subject: Giant theropod footprints in Morocco
> To: "Dinosaur Mailing List" <dinosaur@usc.edu>
> Date: Thursday, September 3, 2009, 6:17 AM
> Boutakiout, M., Hadri, M., Nouri, J.,
> Díaz-Martínez, I. & Pérez-Lorente, F. 2009.
> /Rastrilladas de icnitas terópodas gigantes del Jurásico
> Superior (Sinclinal de Iouaridène, Marruecos). Revista
> Española de Paleontología/, 24 (1), 31-46
>
> English abstract:
>
> The dinosaur ichnological research in the Upper Jurassic
> lacustrine sediments of the Iouaridène syncline provide
> data of interest. One of them includes the discovery of
> gigantic digitigrade theropod footprints, with a not
> described size. The exposures of ichnitic levels are
> continuous in the zone and the continuity of stratigraphic
> beds permits the good correlation. All sites are directly
> linked, except one of them that are separated by a cover of
> quaternary glacis sediments. Inside the work area, that
> includes the half of the syncline, the giant footprints
> occupy a limited section that extends in the same direction
> of these footprints. The spatial situation allows us to
> propose that the gigantic footprints of every bed belong to
> the same trackway, with a maximum length 2000 m. The direct
> and indirect footprint structures are distinctive from each
> to other trackway. However these are not the only footprints
> discovered; between and inside the sites, there are many
> smaller theropod and some ornithopod and sauropod prints.
> This shows that, at least three giant theropod dinosaurs
> lived in the same site with the smaller theropods being the
> last most prominent. After a comparative study it is
> proposed that two of the three gigantic theropod trackways
> and the digitigrade footprints described in this paper, are
> the largest discovered yet in the world.