Re: Hypsilophodontid toes & tracks

["dinotracker" <dinotracker@earthlink.net>]

    Congratulations to Dan Pigdon!

That (http://www.alphalink.com.au/~dannj/larkqury.htm)
certainly appears to be a hypsie track closely resembling those from the
Early Cretaceous of Maryland! (The pedal digits may be a bit less pointed
here, but that could be an effect of substrate condition and of dynamics of
the trackmaker, etc.)  In the Lark Quarry example, the back of the foot just
didn't impress the substrate as far back, probably due to running.  Yes,
that little toe should be digit I.

    The seemingly artificial darkening of digits II,III, and IV  (but not
digit I) of the
track as shown on the website was perceptually misleading, because it's
clearly 'four on the floor'.

    Now if you can find an example where one of the Lark Quarry hypsies
paused, you might come up with
an appropriate five-digit manus impression in addition to that type
four-digit pes, and you will have a hypsilophodontid-diagnostic ichnite.

    I understand the smaller animals at the Lark Quarry were really
'freaking out' over the appearance of
one "big ass theropod" (to quote one of our most esteemed 'therepodan' list
members), so unless one finds tracks made before that happened, well, lots
of luck!  However, you might look for the manus situation at other track
sites.

    So you see, ONCE ONE LEARNS WHAT TO LOOK FOR, discoveries begin.
Pretty soon, four-toed hypsie tracks could be popping up in the perception
fields of people at many places down there and elsewhere, if history is any
indicator.

    TOLD YOU SO!  :)
    Ray Stanford

"You know my method.  It is founded upon the observance of trifles." --
Sherlock Holmes in The Boscombe Valley Mystery

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dann Pigdon" <dannj@alphalink.com.au>
To: "DML" <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Sent: Monday, August 05, 2002 8:13 PM
Subject: Re: Hypsilophodontid toes & tracks


Wouldn't you know it - I've had an (almost) four-toed small ornithopod
track quite literally under my nose the whole time. It is a cast of one
of the smaller Wintonopus tracks from Lark Quarry, about 4 cm long.
...