[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index][Subject Index][Author Index]

Dinosaur tracks papers in new Ichnos honoring Martin Lockley



Ben Creisler
bcreisler@gmail.com

The new  Ichnos  (22 (3-4)) is a special issue dedicated to Martin
Lockley.  Most of the papers are on topics related to dinosaur tracks.

John R. Foster (2015)
Theropod Dinosaur Ichnogenus Hispanosauropus Identified from the
Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic), Western North America.
Ichnos 22 (3-4): 183-191
DOI:10.1080/10420940.2015.1059335
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10420940.2015.1059335

Redescription of a trackway from the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison
Formation (Upper Jurassic) in eastern Utah and comparisons with other
tracks known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous of the region and the
Late Jurassic globally indicate that the large theropod ichnogenus
Hispanosauropus Mensink and Mertmann, 1984, previously known only from
Europe, occurs also in the Morrison Formation. Hispanosauropus is
distinct from Megalosauripus and most likely was made by an
allosauroid theropod, although the possibility that it was made by a
spinosauroid (torvosaurid) or a ceratosauroid cannot be ruled out.
Close geographic and stratigraphic association of Hispanosauropus with
the large theropod body fossil taxa Allosaurus, Torvosaurus, and
Ceratosaurus in both North America and the Iberian Peninsula
strengthens the case for the track's having been made by one of these
genera. Megalosauripus appears to dominate large theropod track
samples from the Entrada Sandstone through the base of the Morrison
Formation (Tidwell Member); Hispanosauropus and similar tracks are
most common in the Salt Wash Member and its equivalents, suggesting
taxonomic turnover in the large theropod faunas during the early part
of Morrison Formation deposition.

====

Lisa G. Buckley, Richard T. McCrea & Martin G. Lockley (2015)
Birding by Foot: A Critical Look at the Synapomorphy- and
Phenetic-Based Approaches to Trackmaker Identification of Enigmatic
Tridactyl Mesozoic Traces.
Ichnos 22 (3-4): 192-207
DOI:10.1080/10420940.2015.1063492
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10420940.2015.1063492

One of the goals of vertebrate ichnology is to use trace fossils as an
additional source of data to determine the palaeoecological makeup of
vertebrate paleoecosystems. The features in both the
synapomorphy-based and phenetic-based methods of attributing a trace
to an osteologic trackmaker are those that are affected by
preservational conditions, convergent due to size and/or habitat of
the trackmaker, and are morphologically variable within taxa. Despite
the drawbacks, the phenetic-based, or “gestalt” method, is still the
most comprehensive, if not always synapomorphy-supported, means of
using the largest amount of data (morphologic and behavioral)
preserved for identifying tracks as avian. To date there are too few
synapomorphies that are both pedes specific and are consistently
preserved in footprints to be a practical method for attributing
tracks to an avian trackmaker. There is still much more comparative
ichnological and statistical work to be done to discern novel traits
that can be used to delineate between the traces of large avian and
small nonavian Mesozoic theropods.
==


Robert E. Weems & Jon M. Bachman (2015)
The Lower Cretaceous Patuxent Formation Ichnofauna of Virginia.
Ichnos 22 (3-4): 208-219
DOI:10.1080/10420940.2015.1063493
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10420940.2015.1063493

The vertebrate fauna from the Lower Cretaceous Patuxent Formation of
Virginia is composed of a single partial fish impression from the
James River at Dutch Gap and a diverse tetrapod ichnofauna from near
Fredericksburg that includes trace fossils made by frogs, turtles,
theropods, sauropods, ankylosaurs, and ornithopods. The footprints
occur on overbank deposits preserved locally within a fluvial
braided-stream sequence that formed near the western border of the
Early Cretaceous Atlantic Coastal Plain.
==


Gerard D. Gierliński (2015)
New Dinosaur Footprints from the Upper Cretaceous of Poland in the
Light of Paleogeographic Context.
Ichnos 22 (3-4):  220-226
DOI:10.1080/10420940.2015.1063489
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10420940.2015.1063489

The Late Cretaceous track assemblage of southeastern Poland includes
intriguing ichnotaxa with Asian or North American affinities. New
finds of the ceratopsian-like ichnite and small hadrosauroid track
refer directly to this problem, whereas the re-evaluation of
foraminifer taxa estimates the stratigraphic positions of the
track-bearing horizon and allowed to understand paleogeographic
context of the studied and adjacent areas. The results demonstrate
that during the Late Cretaceous times, migration of dinosaurs was
possible from Asia through the East European Land to Kukeritz Island
and the islands at peri-Tethys area.
===



Lida Xing, Jianping Zhang, Hendrik Klein, Adrienne Mayor, Yu Chen, Hui
Dai, Michael E. Burns, Junmin Gao, Yonggang Tang & Shurong Dong (2015)
Dinosaur Tracks, Myths and Buildings: The Jin Ji (Golden Chicken)
Stones from Zizhou Area, Northern Shaanxi, China.
Ichnos 22 (3-4):  227-234
DOI:10.1080/10420940.2015.1059334
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10420940.2015.1059334

For centuries, dinosaur footprints have influenced popular legends and
myths in the surroundings of important tracksites. In many regions of
China, track-bearing slabs were utilized as building materials and
integrated in houses, yards, or cave dwellings, often serving as
auspicious symbols or aesthetic decorations. Special birds such as the
golden pheasant, widely distributed in China, may have inspired people
to consider them as mythic trackmakers. The Zizhou area in northern
Shaanxi, China, is famous for tracksites in the lower portion of the
early Middle Jurassic Yan'an Formation. Sandstones with dinosaur
tracks from these localities have been collected since the Ming
Dynasty (1368–1644) and are used by villagers as cellar covers,
stalls, or millstones. Besides their historical importance, the slabs
are a valuable resource for ichnological research. Well-preserved
theropod, ornithopod, and stegosaur tracks such as Kayentapus,
Eubrontes, Anomoepus and Deltapodus incorporated into manmade
structures can be seen while simply walking through some small
villages of this area.

====


Richard T. McCrea, Darren H. Tanke, Lisa G. Buckley, Martin G.
Lockley, James O. Farlow, Lida Xing, Neffra A. Matthews, Charles W.
Helm, S. George Pemberton & Brent H. Breithaupt (2015)
Vertebrate Ichnopathology: Pathologies Inferred from Dinosaur Tracks
and Trackways from the Mesozoic.
Ichnos 22 (3-4):  235-260
DOI:10.1080/10420940.2015.1064408
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10420940.2015.1064408

Literature concerning dinosaur footprints or trackways exhibiting
abnormal gait or morphology reflecting pathology (ichnopathology) is
rare. We report on a number of Jurassic and Cretaceous occurrences of
theropod footprints from western North America with unusual
morphologies interpreted herein as examples of inferred pathologies,
or ichnopathologies. The majority of ichnopathologies are primarily
manifested in the digit impressions and include examples of swelling,
extreme curvature, dislocation or fracture, and amputation. A number
of occurrences are single tracks on ex situ blocks with substantial
deformation (inferred dislocation or fracture), or absence of a single
digit impression. Two occurrences are from in situ natural mould
trackways, one of which is a lengthy trackway of a presumed
allosauroid with no noticeable deformation of the digits or feet but
with strong inward rotation of the left footprint toward the midline
and a pronounced, waddling limp. The other is a tyrannosaurid trackway
consisting of three footprints (one right, two left) with the two left
prints exhibiting repetitive ichnopathology of a partially missing
Digit II impression.