Jurassic continental strata are widely distributed in the Changdu area of eastern Tibet,but very few dinosaur footprints have been reported.Abundant sauropod,ornithopod and theropod footprints preserved in the Wenda s...Jurassic continental strata are widely distributed in the Changdu area of eastern Tibet,but very few dinosaur footprints have been reported.Abundant sauropod,ornithopod and theropod footprints preserved in the Wenda site have been found during the recent geological surveys.This is a novel assemblage of the Middle Jurassic dinosaur footprints.These footprint fossils provide a key insight into the members of dinosaur faunas,and the behavior of the trackmakers.Here,the newly discovery small theropod footprints,which are identified as Wildeichnus isp.,are discussed.The analysis of two trackways suggest that these two trackmakers(with a hip height of approx.35 cm,and a body length of approx.1 m)were moving slowly,with an estimated speed of 0.82 and 0.57 m/s,respectively.It is unusual for small theropods to move so slowly,and the present study supports the view that Wildeichnus had a global distribution,but the trackmaker of Wildeichnus is not interpreted as a juvenile Grallator.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.92055212)the China Geological Survey(Nos.DD20242327 and DD20230006)+3 种基金the Open Foundation of the State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources,China University of Geosciences,Wuhan(No.GPMR202105)the Open Foundation of the Hubei Key Laboratory of Paleontology and Geological Environment Evolution,Wuhan Center,China Geological Survey(No.PEL-202203)supported by the Chengdu Bureau of State Natural Resources Supervision,Department of Natural Resources of Tibet Autonomous Region,Changdu Natural Resources BureauRitong Town People’s Government.
文摘Jurassic continental strata are widely distributed in the Changdu area of eastern Tibet,but very few dinosaur footprints have been reported.Abundant sauropod,ornithopod and theropod footprints preserved in the Wenda site have been found during the recent geological surveys.This is a novel assemblage of the Middle Jurassic dinosaur footprints.These footprint fossils provide a key insight into the members of dinosaur faunas,and the behavior of the trackmakers.Here,the newly discovery small theropod footprints,which are identified as Wildeichnus isp.,are discussed.The analysis of two trackways suggest that these two trackmakers(with a hip height of approx.35 cm,and a body length of approx.1 m)were moving slowly,with an estimated speed of 0.82 and 0.57 m/s,respectively.It is unusual for small theropods to move so slowly,and the present study supports the view that Wildeichnus had a global distribution,but the trackmaker of Wildeichnus is not interpreted as a juvenile Grallator.
