四川盆地上三叠统最古老的兽脚类恐龙和似哺乳四足类动物足迹(英文)

四川盆地须家河组地层已发现了两处兽脚类恐龙足迹化石点,其大小分别与实雷龙足迹(Eubrontes)和跷脚龙足迹(Grallator)相仿。其中与实雷龙足迹大小相近的足迹包括了两个连续的后足迹,并构成行迹的一部分,已被命名为磁峰彭县足迹(Pengxianpus cifengensis)。与粗壮的实雷龙足迹相比,彭县足迹有着较细长的脚趾、保存尚清晰的趾垫、较宽的趾间角,这些特征都与晚三叠世–早侏罗世的卡岩塔足迹(Kayentapus)相似。目前尚不能证明彭县足迹和卡岩塔足迹属于同物异名,彭县足迹仍然被保留。两个足迹的部分区域都保存有皮肤纹理和多边形的鳞片印痕,其中最清晰的是第二个彭县足迹第四趾的跖趾垫处。与跷脚龙足迹大小相近的、较小的兽脚类恐龙足迹也组成不甚完整的行迹。它们表现出的较宽趾间角与卡岩塔足迹和彭县足迹相似,这里暂将其归入兽脚类足迹属种未定。彭县足迹的另一特别之处在于,岩板表面还有着小的前/后足迹,可归入似哺乳四足类动物足迹,其形态类似于北美和南非三叠系–侏罗系地层产出的同类足迹。这是亚洲东南部似哺乳类足迹的首次报道。

新疆吐鲁番盆地中侏罗统张北足迹(Changpeipus,兽脚类)的重新研究(英文)

详细描述了中国西北部新疆吐鲁番市鄯善足迹点、中侏罗统三间房组的兽脚类足迹组合。连同新发现在内,共描述了143个足迹,并阐明其不同的保存状况与额外形态变化。在足迹分类学上,这批足迹被归入石炭张北足迹(Changpeipus carbonicus),该足迹种常见于中国其他侏罗纪足迹点。前人的研究认为此地有两种不同的足迹形态,但研究表明这是由软且湿滑的基底造成的额外形态变化。足迹的结构特征亦不支持此地存在不同的足迹种。此外,对比了其他化石点类似的足迹,认为张北足迹为单型属,即模式种石炭张北足迹。鄯善足迹点的足迹长度从12.2 cm(几个孤立的样本)到47 cm,足迹应由不同年龄段的、小型至中型的同类造迹者或不同类的造迹者所留。奇异的足迹状态包括了一个滑动造成的足迹,足迹由三道平行条带构成,条带应为第II,III和IV趾所留。一个与其关联的"正常"足迹可能与该滑动足迹构成一个单步。与足迹共生的、丰富的无脊椎动物遗迹化石支持该化石点的沉积环境是一个逐步扩大和深化的湖泊。前人的研究将此地的无脊椎动物遗迹化石归入洛克迹(Lockeia),新的研究将其归入福尔斯迹(Fuersichnus),这类遗迹被归于泥食性昆虫幼虫或其他无脊椎动物所留。福尔斯迹指示的环境特征是在泥泞的河漫滩或湖泊边缘居住与/或觅食。

新疆恐龙足迹的最早记录（英文）

尽管新疆地域辽阔,但其四足动物足迹在不久前仍是寥寥。近几年,这种情况得以改变,来自侏罗纪和白垩纪的四足动物足迹陆续被报道和描述,其形态可归入鸟类、非鸟恐龙和翼龙足迹。这里报道了中国科学院南京地质古生物研究所保存的新疆下侏罗统地层发现的第一个恐龙足迹。该足迹是一个小型兽脚类足迹,也是中国西北目前已知的最古老的恐龙足迹。标本暂时归入似张北足迹未定种(cf.Changpeipus isp.),它类似于常见的跷脚龙-实雷龙足迹丛(Grallator-Eubrontes plexus),该种类的足迹主宰着早、中侏罗世的中国,乃至全球之四足动物足迹群。

Early Jurassic basal sauropodomorpha dominated tracks from Guizhou, China: Morphology, ethology, and paleoenvironment

The newly discovered large(350 m^2) Yantan dinosaur tracksite, in the Lower Jurassic Ziliujing Formation of Guizhou Province, China, reveals at least 250 footprints of which ~97 can be resolved into trackways of sauropodomorphs. All the trackways are sub parallel likely indicating gregarious behavior. One theropod track(cf. Grallator) was recorded. The sauropodomorph tracks predominantly represent quadrupedal progression(Morphotype A), and footprint morphology is similar to the ichnospecies Liujianpusshunan, characterized by outward pes rotation. Three trackways indicate bipedal progression, and two of these(Morphotype B) indicate inward pes rotation, accompanied by elongate pes digit scratch marks. For the latter phenomenon three possible scenarios are discussed:(1) significant rotation changes accompanying changes in gait,(2) swimming behavior,(3) formation of undertracks.Sedimentological evidence indicates the tracks were made on a linguloid rippled, muddy, immature sandstone substrate characterized by significant differences in substrate consistency across the trackbearing surface. Microbially induced sedimentary structures(MISS) characterized by distinctive wrinkle marks indicate a stressed, probably semi-arid, paleoenvironment that was not conducive to habitation by invertebrate organisms. This is consistent with other evidence that Lower Jurassic sauropodomorph tracks are often associated with semi-arid paleoenvironments.

Theropod assemblages and a new ichnotaxon Gigandipus chiappei ichnosp.nov.from the Jiaguan Formation,Lower Cretaceous of Guizhou Province,China

A newly discovered Jiaguan Formation(Lower Cretaceous) tracksite from the Linjiang region of Guizhou Province, China, reveals the first example of a Cretaceous track morphotype attributable to the non-avian theropod ichnogenus Gigandipus, here named Gigandipus chiappei ichnosp nov. The theropod dominated locality also reveals the second report of the avian theropod ichnogenus Wupus, one of the largest avian traces currently known from the Lower Cretaceous. The Linjiang site provides evidence to support previous interpretations of a distinctive Lower Cretaceous theropod-dominated ichnofauna that was widespread in China and East Asia and highlights the similarity between Lower Cretaceous theropod ichnotaxa in East Asia and those found in the Lower Jurassic both in East Asia and elsewhere. These similarities in turn create various ichnotaxonomic challenges familiar to researchers working on theropod tracks, and we recommend caution in the naming of new theropod ichnotaxa at the ichnogenus level.

New Early Cretaceous Pterosaur-Bird Track Assemblage from Xinjiang, China:Palaeoethology and Palaeoenvironment

A pterosaur-bird track assemblage from a sandstone-siltstone-mudstone sequence of the Lower Cretaceous Tugulu Group of Xinjiang comprises the first pterosaur track record from this province and the largest specimen thus far known from China.The pterosaur tracks are assigned to the ichnogenus Pteraichnus based on the triangular overall-shape,the four elongate digit traces and the robust manual digit trace Ⅲ.Supposed trackmakers were dsungaripterid pterodactyloids whose skeletal remains are well known from the Tugulu Group.The bird tracks that occur on the same surface,are those of typical shorebirds,known from different other localities in southeast Asia.The congruence with Koreanaornis dodsoni described from the same stratigraphic level justifies an assignment to this ichnospecies.This is a further evidence of the co-occurrence of pterosaurs and birds in a typical iakeshore environment with possible seasonal alteration of water supply and aerial exposure indicated by wave ripples,mudcracks and repeated cycles of coarse to fine sediment.Pterosaurs and birds frequented the shoreline and may have fed also on the numerous invertebrates such as the Scoyenia tracemaker that left abundant burrows.

Unusual dinosaur trackway preservation as clues to paleo-landscape and behavior from the Lower Cretaceous Luohe Formation,Shaanxi Province,China

Poorly preserved tracks have limited ichnotaxonomic or biotaxon utility,but may reveal useful information about the paleoenvironment,behavior and track taphonomy.Eight mostly parallel to sub parallel trackway segments(T1–T8)were registered on a truncation surface in the Lower Cretaceous Luohe Formation of Shaanxi Province.These attest to the passage of several bipeds,probably all theropods,in a paleo-contour-parallel,south-north direction in an arid setting.Quality of preservation in these trackways is poor,but notably superior in two additional trackways(T9–T10)on a foreset surface.Trackway T9 indicates a didactyl trackmaker,probably a deinonychosaurian,heading north to south.This is the 13th report of deinonychosaurian tracks from the Lower Cretaceous of China.If any or all the eight south-north oriented trackway segments represent continuations of other segments in the same trackways,the total number of individual trackmakers heading in this direction may have been as lowas three.Although the trackway pattern and sedimentological evidence could indicate a physically controlled pathway influencing the direction taken by these trackmakers,the possibility that the trackways also represented small social or gregarious group cannot be ruled out.

Largest dinosaur tracksite in China (Cretaceous, Zhaojue area, Sichuan Province): On the verge of destruction

The Zhaojue(ZJ)tracksites represent multiple steeply-inclined,track-bearing exposures in the clastic Feitianshan Formation of Sichuan Province that have been sequentially,excavated,mapped,expanded and destroyed,by quarrying,erosion or collapse,for almost three decades.The quarried area extends for more almost 1.0 km from north to south and-0.5 km from east to west.Four important track-bearing surfaces have been identified and identified as ZJ-Ⅰ,ZJ-Ⅱ,ZJ-ⅡN and ZJ-Ⅲ,some of which are newly exposed surfaces or expanded surfaces that were previously partially described.Others represent surfaces lost since they were first reported in papers published in 2014-2016.The ZJ-Ⅱ site represents a hugely expanded continuation of a much smaller track-bearing surface described in 2014.It was mapped using drone technology,and now represents the largest tracksite in China,with a minimum count of 933 recognizable tracks,and the longest recorded sauropod and ornithopod trackways from China(-80 m and-52 m respectively),which also reveal a pronounced change in the direction of trackmaker movement.The ZJ-Ⅱ surface represents the best Zhaojue paleo-census sample giving a count of 68 individuals from 61 trackways(37 ornithopod,10 theropod,14 sauropod)and isolated tracks(representing 7 individuals).Thus,ornithopods(both large and small trackmakers)represent-54%of the total number of trackways.The smaller ZJ-Ⅲ surface was mapped using traditional methods,and reveals at least 6 ornithopod-and 4 theropod trackways.Both the ZJ-Ⅱ and ZJ-Ⅲ surfaces reveal parallel ornithopod trackways suggestive of social or gregarious behavior.The combined data from all four Zhaojue surfaces reveal a total of 1928 tracks,and include a few previously reported pterosaurs and theropod swim tracks.The Zhaojue quarry complex provide a good example of multiple track-bearing sites(surfaces)that require long term study and monitoring to extract as much trackway data as possible before in situ physical evidence is lost.

A probable tyrannosaurid track from the Upper Cretaceous of southern China

A large number of Upper Cretaceous(Maastrichtian)dinosaur skeletal fossils have been found in the Nanxiong Basin and adjacent Ganzhou area,including those of theropods,sauropods and hadrosaurids.However,known dinosaur ichnoassemblages from the Nanxiong Basin partly indicate a different fauna,with dominating large-and medium-sized ornithopods,theropods,and pterosaurs(1,2)This is one of many known examples where trace and body fossil assemblages from the same formation or geologically discrete region show a different composition.Palecological and paleobiogeographical analyses therefore should consider data from both,before any conclusions can be drawn.Formations can be classified according to the relative degree of similarity or congruity(or difference/incongruity)between trace and body fossils into the 5 categories proposed by Lockley[3].

Late Triassic sauropodomorph and Middle Jurassic theropod tracks from the Xichang Basin,Sichuan Province,southwestern China:First report of the ichnogenus Carmelopodus

Upper Triassic and Middle Jurassic strata of the Xichang Basin in Sichuan Province, southwestern China, yielded important dinosaur ichnofossils. From the Xujiahe Formation of the Yiguojiao tracksite, we report a Late Triassic footprint assemblage in China and the first discovery of diagnostic Triassic sauropodomorph tracks in this region. The tracks share a number of features in common with the ichnogenera Eosauropus(Late Triassic) and Liujianpus(Early Jurassic). The neighboring Bingtu tracksite is stratigraphically younger(Shaximiao Formation, Middle Jurassic) and preserves small tridactyl theropod tracks that represent the first occurrence of the ichnotaxon Carmelopodus in China and Asia. While these tracks are morphologically comparable to those from the Middle Jurassic type locality in North America, the specimens from China show the proximal margin of the digit IV impression in a more cranial position, which may indicate a trackmaker with a relatively short metatarsal IV. In addition to the skeletal record, the Carmelopodus footprints document the presence of small theropods in the dinosaur fauna of the Middle Jurassic Shaximiao Formation.

Lower Cretaceous sauropod trackways from Lishui City and an overview of dinosaur dominated track assemblages from Zhejiang Province, China

A relatively small number of tetrapod tracksites from Zhejiang Province fills out the fossil record from that region,which is also known to have yielded both saurischian（titanosauriform, coelurosaur） and ornithischian（basal ornithopod, ankylosaurian） body fossils as well as dinosaurian eggs. We use photogrammetry and 3 D imaging to reinterpret the sauropod tracks from Lishui City, which revealed the existence of trackways. The track record from three documented sites in Zhejiang Province includes avian and non-avian theropod, sauropod, ornithopod and pterosaur tracks. Previous work showed that the purported new bird ichnospecies Dongyangornipes sinensis is a synonym of Uhangrichnus chuni, while we here consider Pteraichnus dongyangensis as a nomen dubium. Such ＂provincial ichnotaxonomy＂ may mask similarities in the ichnofauna across large regions. In fact, we show that the ichnofauna is similar to that found in the Early Cretaceous elsewhere in China.

The Middle-Upper Jurassic dinosaur-pterosaur fauna in Shandong Province,China:Evidence from ichnology

Tracks previously examined between 2002 and 2015 from an incompletely-studied,and now partially lost tracksite site in the Santai Formation of Shandong Province were restudied based on new ex-cavations of additional surfaces.In contrast to the previous reports of tridactyl tracks,including Grallator,the present study discovered an additional assemblage of unequivocal pterosaur tracks(Pteraichnus)and a possible didactyl deinonychosaurian track.The age of the Santai Formation is controversial but it is probably Late Jurassic,which corresponds to the epoch when pterosaur tracks appear worldwide.Age interpretations,based on palynology and isotopic data,tentatively suggests an earlier Middle-Late Jurassic age and might suggest that the pterosaurian tracks are as old or somewhat older than any previously reported.

The new ichnotaxon Eubrontes nobitai ichnosp. nov. and other saurischian tracks from the Lower Cretaceous of Sichuan Province and a review of Chinese Eubrontes-type tracks

The Jiaguan Formation and the underlying Feitianshan Formation(Lower Cretaceous) in Sichuan Province yield multiple saurischian(theropod–sauropod) dominated ichnofaunas. To date, a moderate diversity of six theropod ichnogenera has been reported, but none of these have been identified at the ichnospecies level. Thus, many morphotypes have common "generic" labels such as Grallator, Eubrontes, cf. Eubrontes or even "EubrontesMegalosauripus" morphotype. These morphotypes are generally more typical of the Jurassic, whereas other more distinctive theropod tracks(Minisauripus and Velociraptorichnus) are restricted to the Cretaceous. The new ichnospecies Eubrontes nobitai ichnosp nov. is distinguished from Jurassic morphotypes based on a very wellpreserved trackway and represents the first-named Eubrontes ichnospecies from the Cretaceous of Asia.