A new dinosaur tracksite was discovered in a steeply inclined sandstone layer of the Middle Jurassic Sanjianfang Formation in the Shanshan area of the Turpan Basin. The site is the first record of dinosaur footprints ...A new dinosaur tracksite was discovered in a steeply inclined sandstone layer of the Middle Jurassic Sanjianfang Formation in the Shanshan area of the Turpan Basin. The site is the first record of dinosaur footprints from Xinjiang Province in northwestern China. More than 150 tridactyl theropod dinosaur footprints are preserved as positive hyporeliefs on the lower bedding plane of a fine-grained sandstone body. Most of the footprints are isolated and appear to be randomly distributed. Some show well defined phalangeal pads, heels and rarely indistinct impressions of the distal part of the metatarsus. Two distinct morphotypes are present: a larger type with relatively broad pads shows similarities to Changpeipus and Megalosauripus, and a slightly smaller, slender and gracile type which is similar to Grallator, Eubrontes and Anchisauripus. In both morphotypes, digit III is the longest with a length between 11.4 and 33.6 cm. A single imprint shows prominent scratches, probably formed during slipping of the track maker.展开更多
The Berezovsk coal mine in western Siberia has yielded the most diverse Middle Jurassic limnic and terrestrial vertebrate assemblage of Asia. The vertebrate remains were recovered by screen washing from floodplain dep...The Berezovsk coal mine in western Siberia has yielded the most diverse Middle Jurassic limnic and terrestrial vertebrate assemblage of Asia. The vertebrate remains were recovered by screen washing from floodplain deposits on top of a thick coal seam of the Bathonian Itat Formation. A total of 29 vertebrate taxa has been recorded so far,including hybodontiform sharks,acipenseriforms,palaeonisciforms,amiiforms,dipnoans,anurans,caudates,turtles,squamates,choristoderans,crocodyliforms,pterosaurs,dinosaurs,tritylodontids,and a diverse mammaliaform and mammalian assemblage( eleutherodontids,docodontans,? amphilestids,dryolestids,and zatherians). The caudates are among the oldest in the fossil record and the anurans represent the oldest Asian record of this group. Among the mammals,Anthracolestes is the oldest and most basal known member of Dryolestidae and so far the only record from Asia. The vertebrate assemblage from the Berezovsk coal mine is very similar to that from the British Forest Marble Formation( Bathonian) and suggests a limited provincialism in the Middle Jurassic Laurasian landmass.展开更多
文摘A new dinosaur tracksite was discovered in a steeply inclined sandstone layer of the Middle Jurassic Sanjianfang Formation in the Shanshan area of the Turpan Basin. The site is the first record of dinosaur footprints from Xinjiang Province in northwestern China. More than 150 tridactyl theropod dinosaur footprints are preserved as positive hyporeliefs on the lower bedding plane of a fine-grained sandstone body. Most of the footprints are isolated and appear to be randomly distributed. Some show well defined phalangeal pads, heels and rarely indistinct impressions of the distal part of the metatarsus. Two distinct morphotypes are present: a larger type with relatively broad pads shows similarities to Changpeipus and Megalosauripus, and a slightly smaller, slender and gracile type which is similar to Grallator, Eubrontes and Anchisauripus. In both morphotypes, digit III is the longest with a length between 11.4 and 33.6 cm. A single imprint shows prominent scratches, probably formed during slipping of the track maker.
基金Financial support was provided by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (grant MA 1643 /14-1. 2)the Board of the President of the Russian Federation ( MD-802 . 2009 . 4 )+1 种基金the Russian Foundation for Basic Research ( projects 07 -04 -00393 ,10 -04 -01350 ,13 -04 -01401 ,and 11 -04 -91331 -NNIO)the Program of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences “Origin of the Life and Establishment of Biosphere
文摘The Berezovsk coal mine in western Siberia has yielded the most diverse Middle Jurassic limnic and terrestrial vertebrate assemblage of Asia. The vertebrate remains were recovered by screen washing from floodplain deposits on top of a thick coal seam of the Bathonian Itat Formation. A total of 29 vertebrate taxa has been recorded so far,including hybodontiform sharks,acipenseriforms,palaeonisciforms,amiiforms,dipnoans,anurans,caudates,turtles,squamates,choristoderans,crocodyliforms,pterosaurs,dinosaurs,tritylodontids,and a diverse mammaliaform and mammalian assemblage( eleutherodontids,docodontans,? amphilestids,dryolestids,and zatherians). The caudates are among the oldest in the fossil record and the anurans represent the oldest Asian record of this group. Among the mammals,Anthracolestes is the oldest and most basal known member of Dryolestidae and so far the only record from Asia. The vertebrate assemblage from the Berezovsk coal mine is very similar to that from the British Forest Marble Formation( Bathonian) and suggests a limited provincialism in the Middle Jurassic Laurasian landmass.
