Sauropod and theropod tracks from Upper Cretaceous of Mendoza Province, Argentina

[Ben Creisler <bcreisler@gmail.com>]

Ben Creisler
bcreisler@gmail.com


A new online paper:


B.J. González Riga, L.D. Ortiz David, M.B. Tomaselli, R. Candeiro &
J.P. Coria, M. Pramparo (2014)
Sauropod and theropod dinosaur tracks from the Upper Cretaceous of
Mendoza (Argentina): trackmakers and anatomical evidences.
Journal of South American Earth Sciences (advance online publication)
doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2014.11.006
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0895981114001606


New findings of dinosaur ichnites from Agua del Choique section
(Mendoza Province, Argentina) provides ichnological and anatomical
information about the Cretaceous sauropods and theropods. Around 330
tracks distributed in six footprint levels were identified in this
area, one of most important of South America. Two ichnocenoses are
located in different paleoenvironmental contexts. In the Anacleto
Formation (early Campanian) around 20 titanosaurian tracks were found
in floodplain and ephemeral channel deposits. Herein, one pes track
shows three claw impressions and this is congruent to two new
titanosaur specimens recently discovered in Mendoza Province that have
articulated and complete pedes. In this context, for the first time to
titanosaurs, ichnological evidences are supported by skeletal
elements. In the Loncoche Formation (late Campanian-early
Maastrichtian) titanosaurian tracks of Titanopodus mendozensis are
abundant (around 310 tracks) and were produced by titanosaurs that
walked in a very wet substrate of tidally dominated deltas related
with the first Atlantic transgression for northern Patagonia. In this
facies association, three different trydactl tracks indicate the
presence of small theropods (1-2 m long), expanding the knowledge
about the faunistic components that lived in these marine marginal
environments.