四川盆地北缘发现白垩纪恐龙足迹化石

The discovery of dinosaur footprints in Cretaceous strata on the northern margin of Sichuan Basin

2020年10月,笔者在四川盆地北缘的四川省通江县下白垩统苍溪组粉砂岩层面之上,新发现5个恐龙足迹化石,其形态均与经典的兽脚类足迹Eubrontes相似(如双足动物所留,足迹宽,功能性三趾型,较短的第Ⅲ趾)。该发现表明,Eubrontes这种中大型的兽脚类足迹广泛分布在四川盆地的下白垩统。该发现对于四川盆地北缘的古气候、古地理和地层对比都具有重要意义。

In October 2020,five dinosaur tracks were discovered on the bedding plane of the siltstone of the Lower Cretaceous Cangxi Formation in Tongjiang County,the northern margin of Sichuan Basin.Their morphology is similar to the classic theropods tracks of Eubrontes(such as bipedal,a broad pes,functionally tridactyl with a relatively short digitⅢ).These tracks reveal that the medium to large-sized Eubrontes were widely distributed in the Lower Cretaceous of Sichuan Basin.This new discovery is of important significance to the paleoclimate,paleogeography and stratigraphic contrast of the northern margin of the Sichuan Basin.