Ben Creisler
New and not yet mentioned ichnology papers:
Free pdf:
Lida Xing, Martin G. Lockley, Chengkai Jia, Hendrik Klein, Kecheng Niu, Lijun Zhang, Liqi Qi, Chunyong Chou, Anthony Romilio, Donghao Wang, Yu Zhang, W Scott Persons & Miaoyan Wang (2021)
Lower Cretaceous avian-dominated, theropod, thyreophoran, pterosaur and turtle track assemblages from the Tugulu Group, Xinjiang, China: ichnotaxonomy and palaeoecology.
PeerJ 9:e11476
doi:
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11476https://peerj.com/articles/11476/
Rich tetrapod ichnofaunas, known for more than a decade, from the Huangyangquan Reservoir (Wuerhe District, Karamay City, Xinjiang) have been an abundant source of some of the largest Lower Cretaceous track collections from China. They originate from inland lacustrine clastic exposures of the 581â877 m thick Tugulu Group, variously divided into four formations and subgroups in the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin. The large Huangyangquan track assemblages occur in the Lower layer/Subgroup II. Similarly-composed track assemblages also occur at the smaller Asphaltite site in the Upper Layer/Subgroup III. The Huangyangquan assemblages have yielded more than 1,500 identified tracks including abundant tracks of avian and non-avian theropods, pterosaurs and turtles and less abundant tracks of stegosaurs. Previous avian track identifications have been reassessed to conclude that Moguiornipes robustus is a taphotaxon and Koreanaornis dodsoni might be better accommodated in the ichnogenus Aquatilavipes which appears to be the dominant avian ichnotaxon. The avian track Ignotornis is also recognized and represents the first occurrence of this ichnogenus in China. Although the Huangyangquan assemblages lack some of the larger components (e.g., sauropodan and ornithopodan tracks) known from other Lower Cretaceous localities, the association of abundant tracks of smaller tetrapods (avian and non-avian theropods, pterosaurs and turtles) appears to be representative of lacustrine basin faunas of this region, and are an excellent example of the shorebird ichnocoenosis/ichnofacies concept. This is the first comprehensive review and re-analysis of an important Lower Cretaceous ecosystem.
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Also, not yet mentioned from last year. Thanks to Niclas Borinder for bringing this one to my attention.
Free pdf:
Leslie F. NOÃ, Marcela GÃMEZâPÃREZ, Josà Vicente RODRÃGUEZ, Alejandro CORRALES-GARCÃA, and William G. CARANTON-MATEUS (2020)
Dinosaur footprints from the Lower Cretaceous, Batà Formation, Colombia (South America), and the possible interchange of large ornithopods between southern Laurasia and northern Gondwana.
In: GÃmez, J. & PinillaâPachon, A.O. (editors), The Geology of Colombia, Volume 2 Mesozoic. Servicio GeolÃgico Colombiano, Publicaciones GeolÃgicas Especiales 36: 375â401
doi:
https://doi.org/10.32685/pub.esp.36.2019.11https://www2.sgc.gov.co/LibroGeologiaColombia/Paginas/v2ch11.aspxFree pdf:
https://www2.sgc.gov.co/LibroGeologiaColombia/tgc/sgcpubesp36201911.pdfDinosaur remains from northwestern South America are rare, with only extremely scarce fossil evidence recovered from Colombia. Here we report six dinosaur footprints preserved on a sub-vertical bedding plane of the upper Valanginian -- lower Hauterivian Batà Formation, Santa MarÃa, Boyacà Department, Colombia. The Batà Formation consists of a thick succession of conglomerates and sandstones with shale intercalations interpreted as deposited along the palaeoshoreline of an epicontinental seaway. Four of the footprints form a trackway made by a single dinosaur, which is interpreted as a subâadult ornithopod, estimated at 8 m in length, weighing around 2.5 metric tons, and travelling at an average walking speed of almost 5 km/h. The footprints are assigned to the ichnogenus Iguanodontipus, and were probably produced by an iguanodontian dinosaur. Prior to this work, Iguanodontipus was considered an exclusively European taxon, making this a unique record of the ichnogenus in Gondwana. The presence of Iguanodontipus in northern South America suggests an Early Cretaceous sweepstake, with dinosaurs crossing Tethys Ocean into modernâday northern Africa, and migrating along the northern shores of Gondwana into modernâday South America. Range extension of iguanodontian ornithopods southwards into Gondwana during the Early Cretaceous was apparently prevented by the Central Gondwana Desert Belt, possibly as a result of the palaeoecology of these dinosaurs, which seem to have had an affinity for environments rich in water and lush vegetation. A migration route across Tethys and the Central Gondwana Desert Belt helps explain similarities between northern Gondwanan and southern Laurasian dinosaurs, and the differences between northern and southern Gondwanan faunas, during the Early Cretaceous.
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