So called 'Rhamphorhynchoid' tracks

[Unwin <h0662eka@rz.hu-berlin.de>]

So called 'Rhamphorhynchoid' tracks

On Wednesday 24th September Peters wrote:


'As a query without commentary on David Unwin's upcoming SVP abstract on
pterosaur tracks, what is the latest word on Mazin's rhamphorynchoid
tracks, first described and illustrated in the symposium volume, "Two
hundred years of pterosaurs", Sept. 2001?'


I am not aware of any further written information or commentary on the 
'rhamphorhynchoid' tracks reported by Mazin from Crayssac since the 'Two 
hundred years of pterosaurs' symposium volume abstract, but presume that 
further information will appear in the conference proceedings which 
should have been published by the Geological Society of London in the 
last few days (Buffetaut, E. & Mazin, J.-M. (eds), Evolution and 
Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs. Geological Society, London, Special 
Publications 217). If I recall correctly, at the Toulouse meeting, many 
pterosaur workers expressed considerable doubt over Mazin's 
identification, so it would be premature to refer to these tracks as 
'rhamphorhynchoid' other than in a highly qualified manner. These are not 
the only so called 'rhamphorhynchoid' tracks, however (see e.g. 
Southwell, E. H. & Connely, M. 1997 Preliminary report of a new pterosaur 
track morphotype from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Wyoming. 
J. Vert. Paleont. 17 (3), 78A), but even if these and Mazin's tracks 
eventually prove to have been made by members of one (or more) of the 
basal clades of pterosaur it is clear that, at present, basal clades have 
a vanishingly small track record compared to the 1000's of prints and 
tracks already reported for pterdactyloids.

See y'all in Minnesota

Dave    


   


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David M. Unwin PhD

Institut fur Palaontologie, MUSEUM FUR NATURKUNDE 
Zentralinstitut der Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin
Invalidenstrasse 43, D-10115 Berlin, GERMANY

Email: david.unwin@rz.hu-berlin.de

Telephone numbers:
0049 30 2093 8577 (office)
0049 30 2093 8862 (department secretary)
0049 30 2093 8868 (fax)
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