Discovery of the Middle Jurassic Small Theropod Footprints in Eastern Tibet, China

Abstract

Jurassic continental strata are widely distributed in the Changdu area of eastern Tibet, but very few dinosaur footprints have been reported. Abundant sauropod, ornithopod and theropod footprints preserved in the Wenda site have been found during the recent geological surveys. This is a novel assemblage of the Middle Jurassic dinosaur footprints. These footprint fossils provide a key insight into the members of dinosaur faunas, and the behavior of the trackmakers. Here, the newly discovery small theropod footprints, which are identified as Wildeichnus isp., are discussed. The analysis of two trackways suggest that these two trackmakers (with a hip height of approx. 35 cm, and a body length of approx. 1 m) were moving slowly, with an estimated speed of 0.82 and 0.57 m/s, respectively. It is unusual for small theropods to move so slowly, and the present study supports the view that Wildeichnus had a global distribution, but the trackmaker of Wildeichnus is not interpreted as a juvenile Grallator.

References

[1] AbbassiN, D’OraziP S, WagensommerA, et al. . Dinosaur and Crocodylomorph Footprints from the Hojedk Formation (Bajocian, Middle Jurassic) of North Kerman, Central Iran. Italian Journal of Geosciences, 2015, 134(1): 86-94

[2] AbbassiN, MadanipourS. Dinosaur Tracks from the Jurassic Shemshak Group in the Central Alborz Mountains (Northern Iran). Geologica Carpathica, 2014, 65(2): 99-115

[3] AlexanderR M. Estimates of Speeds of Dinosaurs. Nature, 1976, 261(5556): 129-130

[4] CasamiquelaR M. Estudios Ichnológicos. Problemas yMétodos de la Icnología Con Applicatión al Estudio de Pisadas Mesozoicas (Reptilia, Mammalia) de la Patagonia, 1964 Buenos Aires Colegio Industrial Pio IX 229

[5] ChenL, LiangC Y, LiuY J, et al. . Geochronology and Provenance Analysis of the Xiufeng Formation in Mohe Basin: Implications for the Evolution of the Eastern Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean. Earth Science, 2022, 47(9): 3334-3353 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

[6] CoombsW P Jr.. Theoretical Aspects of Cursorial Adaptations in Dinosaurs. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 1978, 53(4): 393-418

[7] De ChardinP T, YoungC C. On Some Traces of Vertebrate Life in the Jurassic and Triassic Beds of Shansi and Shensi. Bulletin of the Geological Society of China, 1929, 8(2): 131-133

[8] FangX S, ChangY S. The Recovery of the Trajectory of Indian Plate Based on Dinosaurs. Geological Bulletin of China, 2011, 30(11): 1689-1696 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

[9] FangX S, ChangY S. Retrospective and Complement to Research on “Indian Plate” -Change a Way to Look at the Earth. Advances in Geosciences, 2016, 6(4): 315-330 in Chinese with English Abstract)

[10] FangX S, LiP X, ZhangZ J. The Jurassic Red Bed in the Cental Yunnan of China, 2008 Beijing Geological Publishing House 111 (in Chinese)

[11] FangX S, ZhangZ J, LuL W, et al. . Collision between the Indian Plate and the Paleo-Asian Plate and the Appearance of Asian Dinosaurs. Geological Bulletin of China, 2006, 25(7): 862-873 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

[12] FarlowJ O. Estimates of Dinosaur Speeds from a New Trackway Site in Texas. Nature, 1981, 294(5843): 747-748

[13] GierlińskiG G, MenduckiP, JaniszewskaK, et al. . A Preliminary Report on Dinosaur Track Assemblages from the Middle Jurassic of the Imilchil Area, Morocco. Geological Quarterly, 2009, 53: 477-482

[14] GierlińskiG G, NiedźwiedzkiG, NowackiP. Small Theropod and Ornithopod Footprints in the Late Jurassic of Poland. Acta Geologica Polonica, 2009, 59(2): 221-234

[15] HuH Q. Taphonomic Analysis of Dinosaur Footprints and Fossils of Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation in Lufeng, Yunnan, 2016 Beijing China University of Geosciences (Beijing) (in Chinese with English Abstract)

[16] JiangX J, ChenX, GaoS B, et al. . A New Discovery of Ag-Pb-Zn Mineralization via Modern Portable Analytical Technology and Stream Sediment Data Processing Methods in Dajiacuo Area, Western Tibet (China). Journal of Earth Science, 2020, 31(4): 668-682

[17] KuangH W, LiuY Q, WuQ Z, et al. . Dinosaur Track Sites and Palaeogeography of the Late Early Cretaceous in Shuhe Rifting Zone of Shandong Province. Journal of Palaeogeography, 2013, 15(4): 435-453 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

[18] KongL Y, YaoH Z, XuY D, et al. . Evolution of Sedimentary Basins in Qiangtang-Sanjiang from Paleozoic to Mesozoic. Earth Science, 2014, 39(8): 1217-1229 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

[19] LeonardiG. Annotated Atlas of South America Tetrapod Footprints (Devonian to Holocene) with an Appendix on Mexico and Central America, 1994 Brasília Companhia de Pesquisa de Recursos Mierais 247

[20] LiJ J, MartinL, BaiZ Q, et al. . The Small Theropod and Bird Tracks from the Lower Cretaceous of Otog Qi, Inner Mongolia and Their Paleoenvironmental Implication. Research and Report, 2009, 1(2): 5-30 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

[21] LiR H, LiJ J, XingL D. Atlas of Dinosaur Tracks from China, 2021 Qingdao Qingdao Publishing House 924 (in Chinese)

[22] LiS, ZhouY Q, YaoX, et al. . Study on Dinosaur Track Fossils and Footprints Reconstruction in Zhucheng Area, Shandong Province. Geological Review, 2012, 58(3): 434-443 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

[23] LiY X, ZhangY X. Early Middle Jurassic Dinosaur Footprints from Zizhou County, Shaanxi, China. Vertebrata Palasiatica, 2017, 55(3): 276-288

[24] LiuC G. Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility Study of the Jurassic Rocks in the Esatern Qiangtang Block and Its Tectonic Implication, 2020 Beijing Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences (in Chinese with English Abstract)

[25] LockleyM. Dinosaur Ontogeny and Population Structure: Interpretations and Speculations Based on Fossil Footprints, 1994 Cambridge Cambridge University Press 347-365

[26] LockleyM, MitchellL, OdierG P. Small Theropod Track Assemblages from Middle Jurassic Eolianites of Eastern Utah: Paleoecological Insights from Dune Ichnofacies in a Transgressive Sequence. Ichnos, 2007, 14(1/2): 131-142

[27] LockleyM, WrightJ, WhiteD, et al. . The First Sauropod Trackways from China. Cretaceous Research, 2002, 23(3): 363-381

[28] LullR S. Fossil Footprints of the Jura-Trias of North America. Memoirs of Boston Society of Natural History, 1904, 5: 461-557

[29] OlsenP E, SmithJ B, McDonaldN G. Type Material of the Type Species of the Classic Theropod Footprint Genera Eubrontes, Anchisauripus, and Grallator (Early Jurassic, Hartford and Deerfield Basins, Connecticut and Massachusetts, USA). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 1998, 18(3): 586-601

[30] PanG T, LiX Z, WangL Q, et al. . Preliminary Division of Tectonic Units of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Its Adjacent Regions. Geological Bulletin of China, 2002, 21(11): 701-707 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

[31] RainforthE C. Vertebrate Ichnological Diversity and Census Studies Lower Jurassic Navajo Sandstone, 1997 Boulder University of Colorado 48

[32] ScoteseC R. Atlas of Jurassic Paleogeographic Maps, PALEOMAP Atlas for ArcGIS, Volume 3, the Jurassic and Triassic, Maps 32–42, Mollweide Projection, PALEOMAP Project, Evanston, IL. Geoscience, 2014, 4: 32-42

[33] ThulbornR A. Estimated Speed of a Giant Bipedal Dinosaur. Nature, 1981, 292(5820): 273-274

[34] ThulbornT. Dinosaur Tracks, 1990 London Chapman and Hall 410

[35] ValaisS. Revision of Dinosaur Ichnotaxa from the la Matilde Formation (Middle Jurassic), Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. Ameghiniana, 2011, 48(1): 28-42

[36] WangB P, LiJ J. Review of Dinosaur Footprints Research in Shaanxi Province. Mineral Exploration, 2020, 11(2): 403-410 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

[37] WangL Q, PanG T, DingJ, et al. . Geological Map of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Adjacent Areas (1: 1 500 000), 2013 Beijing Geological Publishing House 1 (in Chinese)

[38] WangS E. Chinese Stratigraphy (11), Chinese Jurassic, 1985 Beijing Geological Publishing House 366 (in Chinese)

[39] WangS E, DengS L, YuQ S, et al. . Dictionary of Chinese Stratigraphy (Jurassic), 2000 Beijing Geological Publishing House 154 (in Chinese)

[40] XiaD X, LiuS K, TengY, et al. . Lithography of Tibet Autonomous Region, 1997 Wuhan China University of Geosciences Press 302 (in Chinese)

[41] XingL D. The Past and Present of Dinosaur Footprints Research. Science, 2017, 69(4): 54-57 4, 63 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

[42] XingL D, HarrisJ D, CurrieP J. First Record of Dinosaur Trackway from Tibet, China. Geological Bulletin, 2011, 30(1): 173-178

[43] XingL D, HarrisJ D, FengX Y, et al. . Theropod (Dinosauria: Saurischia) Tracks from Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation at Sihetun Village, Liaoning Province, China and Possible Track Makers. Geological Bulletin of China, 2009, 28(6): 705-712

[44] XingL D, LockleyM G, TangY G, et al. . Theropod and Ornithischian Footprints from the Middle Jurassic Yanan Formation of Zizhou County, Shaanxi, China. Ichnos, 2015, 22(1): 1-11

[45] XingL D, LockleyM G, WangY D, et al. . New Middle Jurassic Dinosaur Track Record from Northeastern Sichuan Province, China. Swiss Journal of Palaeontology, 2017, 136(2): 359-364

[46] XingL D, WangF P, PanS G, et al. . The Discovery of Dinosaur Footprints from the Middle Cretaceous Jiaguan Formation of Qijiang County, Chongqing City. Acta Geologica Sinica, 2007, 81(11): 1591-1604 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

[47] XingL D, XuX, LockleyM G, et al. . Sauropod Trackways from the Middle Jurassic Chaya Group of Eastern Tibet, China. Historical Biology, 2021, 33(12): 3141-3151

[48] YangQ, LüJ C, WangJ M, et al. . A Study of Early Cretaceous Dinosaur Tracks in Liupanshan Area, Ningxia. Acta Geoscientica Sinica, 2019, 40(3): 483-491 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

[49] YeY, PengG Z, JiangS. A Review of Dinosaur Footprints in Sichuan Basin. Journal of Geology, 2012, 36(2): 129-133 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

[50] ZhangL X, LiuP H, WangY L, et al. . Depositional Timing and Provenance Characteristics of the Cretaceous Insishan Formation in the Shewopo Area, Jiaolai Basin: New Evidence from Detrital Zircon U-Pb Dating and REE Composition. Earth Science, 2021, 46(3): 1119-1132 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

[51] ZhangY X, ChenJ, FanY Y. A Review of Footprints Fossils Research in Zhucheng Area in Shandong Province. Shandong Land and Resources, 2018, 34(6): 33-40 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

[52] ZhenS N, LiJ J, HanZ K, et al. . The Study of Dinosaur Footprints in China, 1996 Chengdu Sichuan Scientific and Technological Publishing House 110 (in Chinese)

[53] ZhenS, LiJ, ChenW, et al. . Dinosaur and Bird Footprints from the Lower Cretaceous of Emei County, Sichuan. Memoirs of Beijing Natural History Museum, 1995, 54: 105-120 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, Part of Springer Nature