From: owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu [mailto:owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu]
On Behalf Of Martin Baeker
Hi folks,
my google skills have failed me: I have seen a TV documentary
which showed an assembly of small fossils inside an
Argentinosaurus footprint. However, I'm unable to find any
reference for that.
Any hints to a paper (or if possible a pdf) would be very
welcome here...
The sauropod ID (and thus the continent) is totally wrong, but this seems to be
a misreporting of:
PALAIOS 25(2):112-125. 2010
DINOSAUR DEATH PITS FROM THE JURASSIC OF CHINA
full access
DAVID A. EBERTH1,*d, XU XING2, and JAMES M. CLARK3
Abstract
Three newly discovered bonebeds from the Shishugou Formation of Xinjiang, China, are
unusual in preserving vertically stacked and articulated to associated skeletons of at
least 18 small, non-avian theropod dinosaurs in pits that are 1–2 m deep. The
pits host a soft sediment-deformed mixture of alluvial and volcanic mudstone and
sandstone. There is no evidence that the pits were discrete depressions in the
topography that filled through time. Rather, they appear to have been highly localized
areas of liquefaction caused by large-dinosaur (possibly sauropod) trampling of
saturated sediments. Evidence indicates that the small theropods, and some other small
vertebrates, became mired and died in these mud-filled pits. High quality skeletal
preservation suggests that most individuals were buried within days to months after
their deaths. Carcasses were buried successively, coming to rest above previously
buried individuals. In some cases, skeletal body parts became separated or
were removed, probably during scavenging. Given the large sizes of the pits relative to the small
body sizes of the vertebrates contained within them, we conclude that small vertebrates (<3 m
long and <1 m tall) were particularly susceptible to miring at these sites. Although the small,
presumably herbivorous ceratosaur, Limusaurus inextricabilis, dominates the combined small theropod
assemblage from these bonebeds (minimum number of individuals [MNI] = 15), there is
no evidence that any biological features other than its small size and a large, and possibly,
gregarious local population were responsible for its becoming mired in large numbers. A bias for
small theropods in these bonebeds, compared to their relatively low abundance in the overall
Shishugou Formation fauna, underscores that small theropods are underrepresented in Mesozoic fossil
assemblages collected from other ancient alluvial and paludal settings.
http://palaios.sepmonline.org/content/25/2/112.short
http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.2110/palo.2009.p09-028r
Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Email: tholtz@umd.edu Phone: 301-405-4084
Office: Centreville 1216
Senior Lecturer, Vertebrate Paleontology
Dept. of Geology, University of Maryland
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/
Fax: 301-314-9661
Faculty Director, Science & Global Change Program, College Park Scholars
http://www.geol.umd.edu/sgc
Fax: 301-314-9843
Mailing Address: Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Department of Geology
Building 237, Room 1117
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742 USA
-----
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2012.0.2195 / Virus Database: 2437/5128 - Release Date: 07/12/12