scholarly journals Fast-running theropods tracks from the Early Cretaceous of La Rioja, Spain

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Navarro-Lorbés ◽  
Javier Ruiz ◽  
Ignacio Díaz-Martínez ◽  
Erik Isasmendi ◽  
Patxi Sáez-Benito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
Lower Cretaceous ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Biomechanical Models ◽  
Fast Running ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Dinosaur Tracks ◽  
Theropod Tracks ◽  
La Rioja

AbstractTheropod behaviour and biodynamics are intriguing questions that paleontology has been trying to resolve for a long time. The lack of extant groups with similar bipedalism has made it hard to answer some of the questions on the matter, yet theoretical biomechanical models have shed some light on the question of how fast theropods could run and what kind of movement they showed. The study of dinosaur tracks can help answer some of these questions due to the very nature of tracks as a product of the interaction of these animals with the environment. Two trackways belonging to fast-running theropods from the Lower Cretaceous Enciso Group of Igea (La Rioja) are presented here and compared with other fast-running theropod trackways published to date. The Lower Cretaceous Iberian fossil record and some features present in these footprints and trackways suggest a basal tetanuran, probably a carcharodontosaurid or spinosaurid, as a plausible trackmaker. Speed analysis shows that these trackways, with speed ranges of 6.5–10.3 and 8.8–12.4 ms−1, testify to some of the top speeds ever calculated for theropod tracks, shedding light on the question of dinosaur biodynamics and how these animals moved.

scholarly journals Fast-Running Theropods Tracks From the Early Cretaceous of La Rioja, Spain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Navarro-Lorbés ◽  
Javier Ruiz ◽  
Ignacio Díaz-Martínez ◽  
Erik Isasmendi ◽  
Patxi Sáez-Benito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
Lower Cretaceous ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Biomechanical Models ◽  
Fast Running ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Dinosaur Tracks ◽  
Theropod Tracks ◽  
La Rioja

Abstract Theropod behaviour and biodynamics are intriguing questions that paleontology has been trying to resolve for a long time. The lack of extant groups with similar bipedalism has made it hard to answer some of the questions on the matter, yet theoretical biomechanical models have shed some light on the question of how fast theropods could run and what kind of movement they showed. The study of dinosaur tracks can help answer some of these questions due to the very nature of tracks as a product of the interaction of these animals with the environment. Two trackways belonging to fast-running theropods from the Lower Cretaceous Enciso Group of Igea (La Rioja) are presented here and compared with other fast-running theropod trackways published to date. The Lower Cretaceous Iberian fossil record and some features present in these footprints and trackways suggest a basal tetanuran, probably a carcharodontosaurid or spinosaurid, as a plausible trackmaker. Speed analysis shows that these trackways, with speed ranges of 6.5−10.3 and 8.8−12.4 ms-1, testify to some of the top speeds ever calculated for theropod tracks, shedding light on the question of dinosaur biodynamics and how these animals moved.

scholarly journals Convergent evolution of ramified antennae in insect lineages from the Early Cretaceous of Northeastern China

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1839) ◽  
pp. 20161448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taiping Gao ◽  
Chungkun Shih ◽  
Conrad C. Labandeira ◽  
Jorge A. Santiago-Blay ◽  
Yunzhi Yao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
Motion Detection ◽  
Lower Cretaceous ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Convergent Evolution ◽  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Northeastern China ◽  
Environmental Cues ◽  
Key Innovation ◽  
Temperature Levels

Antennae are important, insect sensory organs that are used principally for communication with other insects and the detection of environmental cues. Some insects independently evolved ramified (branched) antennae, which house several types of sensilla for motion detection, sensing olfactory and chemical cues, and determining humidity and temperature levels. Though ramified antennae are common in living insects, occasionally they are present in the Mesozoic fossil record. Here, we present the first caddisflies with ramified antennae, the earliest known fossil sawfly, and a scorpionfly also with ramified antennae from the mid-Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Northeastern China, dated at 125 million years ago (Ma). These three insect taxa with ramified antennae consist of three unrelated lineages and provide evidence for broad structural convergence that historically has been best demonstrated by features such as convergent mouthparts. In addition, ramified antennae in these Mid-Mesozoic lineages likely do not constitute a key innovation, as they are not associated with significantly increased diversification compared with closely related lineages lacking this trait, and nor are they ecologically isolated from numerous, co-occurring insect species with unmodified antennae.

scholarly journals New Lower Cretaceous basal mantodean (Insecta) from the Crato Formation (NE Brazil)

2014 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 285-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shih-Wei Lee
Keyword(s):  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
Lower Cretaceous ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Fossil Species ◽  
Cosmopolitan Distribution ◽  
The Family ◽  
Chapada Do Araripe

Abstract Mantodea are very rare in the fossil record. 28 fossil species are reported since the earliest occurrence of mantodeans in the Upper Jurassic (Tithonian). Here, I describe Cretophotina santanensis n. sp. from the Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) Crato Formation of Chapada do Araripe (northeastern Brazil). This species is characterized by long antenna and primitive raptorial forelegs. Morphological characters shared with the living genus Chaeteessa would support its assignment to the family Chaeteessidae. The tropical occurrence of the Early Cretaceous genus Cretophotina in Gondwana, together with occurrences of the genus Chaetessa from subtropical and temperate zones of Laurasia, implies that members of the family Chaeteessidae achieved nearly cosmopolitan distribution during the Early Cretaceous.

scholarly journals A new dinosaur ichnosite from the early Cretaceous Sousa Formation, Northeastern Brazil

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hebert Bruno Hebert Campos ◽  
Niels Bonde ◽  
Maria Eduarda Leal ◽  
Mário André Dantas
Keyword(s):  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
New Record ◽  
Digital Camera ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Plastic Sheet ◽  
Dinosaur Tracks ◽  
Theropod Tracks ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Botucatu Formation

Background. The Sousa Formation contains the richest dinosaur ichnofauna from the Early Cretaceous Rio do Peixe Basin, Northeastern Brazil. Occurs eventually ornithopod tracks, which are found also in the Antenor Navarro and Piranhas Formations. Together with one trackway from the Botucatu Formation, some isolated tracks from the Cenomanian São Luís Basin, and some trackways from the Early Cretaceous Corda Formation, at the moment, these occurrences indicates the only definitive presence of ornithopods in the Mesozoic of Brazil. Material & Methods. In 2015, a fieldwork was held to investigate potential dinosaur tracks in new ichnosites from the Sousa Formation. All the tracks were photographed individually using a digital camera Nikon Coolpix P520. The paleoichnological terminology and morphometric parametrers follows Thulborn (1990), Marty (2008) and Castanera et al. (2013). A plastic sheet was used for drawing the tracks. Directions and measurements of each dinosaur track, as well as the entire outcrop, were taken in situ. Results. The Pereiros ichnosite represents a new occurrence of dinosaur tracks from the Sousa Formation. The dinosaur ichnofauna comprises a medium-sized, bipedal ornithopod trackway, a single ornithopod track and one pair of theropod tracks. Discussion. The ornithopod trackway is characterized by plantigrade, tridactyl, mesaxonic, subsymmetrical and wider than long pes tracks, with large and rounded heels, and short and wide digit impressions. It is referred to the ichnofamily Iguanodontipodidae, previously reported for the Sousa beds. Two medium-sized theropod tracks assigned to Irenesauripus also occurs, representing an expansion of the paleobiogeographical record for this unusual ichnotaxa. The new record of Irenesauripus from the Sousa Formation shows an unusual pattern with morphological similarities to theropods tracks from the Lower Cretaceous Feitianshan Formation of Sichuan, China (Xing et al., 2013). According to Xing et al. (2011), the Chinese tracks preserve partial metatarsal pads that are not distinct from their respective metatarsophalangeal regions. Xing et al. (2011) noted the unusual elongate digit II claw impression, indicating that digit II of the trackmaker possessed a long claw, longer than on any of the other digits. Conclusions. The outcrop studied represents the nineteenth dinosaur tracksite in the Sousa Formation and gives further evidence of the rather rare ornithopod dinosaurs in the Cretaceous of Brazil.

scholarly journals A new dinosaur ichnosite from the early Cretaceous Sousa Formation, Northeastern Brazil

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hebert Bruno Hebert Campos ◽  
Niels Bonde ◽  
Maria Eduarda Leal ◽  
Mário André Dantas
Keyword(s):  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
New Record ◽  
Digital Camera ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Plastic Sheet ◽  
Dinosaur Tracks ◽  
Theropod Tracks ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Botucatu Formation

Background. The Sousa Formation contains the richest dinosaur ichnofauna from the Early Cretaceous Rio do Peixe Basin, Northeastern Brazil. Occurs eventually ornithopod tracks, which are found also in the Antenor Navarro and Piranhas Formations. Together with one trackway from the Botucatu Formation, some isolated tracks from the Cenomanian São Luís Basin, and some trackways from the Early Cretaceous Corda Formation, at the moment, these occurrences indicates the only definitive presence of ornithopods in the Mesozoic of Brazil. Material & Methods. In 2015, a fieldwork was held to investigate potential dinosaur tracks in new ichnosites from the Sousa Formation. All the tracks were photographed individually using a digital camera Nikon Coolpix P520. The paleoichnological terminology and morphometric parametrers follows Thulborn (1990), Marty (2008) and Castanera et al. (2013). A plastic sheet was used for drawing the tracks. Directions and measurements of each dinosaur track, as well as the entire outcrop, were taken in situ. Results. The Pereiros ichnosite represents a new occurrence of dinosaur tracks from the Sousa Formation. The dinosaur ichnofauna comprises a medium-sized, bipedal ornithopod trackway, a single ornithopod track and one pair of theropod tracks. Discussion. The ornithopod trackway is characterized by plantigrade, tridactyl, mesaxonic, subsymmetrical and wider than long pes tracks, with large and rounded heels, and short and wide digit impressions. It is referred to the ichnofamily Iguanodontipodidae, previously reported for the Sousa beds. Two medium-sized theropod tracks assigned to Irenesauripus also occurs, representing an expansion of the paleobiogeographical record for this unusual ichnotaxa. The new record of Irenesauripus from the Sousa Formation shows an unusual pattern with morphological similarities to theropods tracks from the Lower Cretaceous Feitianshan Formation of Sichuan, China (Xing et al., 2013). According to Xing et al. (2011), the Chinese tracks preserve partial metatarsal pads that are not distinct from their respective metatarsophalangeal regions. Xing et al. (2011) noted the unusual elongate digit II claw impression, indicating that digit II of the trackmaker possessed a long claw, longer than on any of the other digits. Conclusions. The outcrop studied represents the nineteenth dinosaur tracksite in the Sousa Formation and gives further evidence of the rather rare ornithopod dinosaurs in the Cretaceous of Brazil.

Simulated weathering of dinosaur tracks and the implications for their characterization

2006 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 691-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald M Henderson
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Taxonomic Diversity ◽  
Physical Models ◽  
Digital Models ◽  
Track Formation ◽  
Erosion Models ◽  
Dinosaur Tracks ◽  
Theropod Tracks

Digital models of the tracks of bipedal theropod and ornithopod dinosaurs, and the quadrupedal tracks of a sauropod, were computationally eroded to investigate the effects of erosion on the shapes, sizes, and diagnostic details of fossil tracks. Narrow and (or) angular details, such as claw marks, interdigital ridges, and internal ridges, are removed early in erosion, creating the potential for misidentification of eroded theropod tracks as those of ornithopods. However, with the erosion models presented here, all tracks retain their basic shapes as indicated by the relative constancy of their interdigital angles and by the relative constancy of their footlength:footwidth ratios. Surface lengths of tracks did not increase significantly with erosion, so that dinosaurian hip height and speed estimates derived from trackways would not be greatly in error if based on eroded surface tracks. Synthetic undertracks from the surface tracks were also produced using information from published physical models of track formation. The differences between a weathered surface track and a freshly exposed, simulated undertrack are sufficient so that the two model tracks would not be confused. Large, rounded tracks are much better at retaining their characteristics than small, angular tracks, with the implication that large tracks may be over-represented in the fossil record, but they may be more reliably attributed to the appropriate trackmaker. This would bias estimates of dinosaur taxonomic diversity and body size ranges based on trackway evidence.

The oldest fossil record of Lymexylidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil

2011 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Wolf-Schwenninger
Keyword(s):  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
Lower Cretaceous ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Hind Wing ◽  
Wing Venation ◽  
New Taxon

AbstractThe fossil ship-timber beetle Cratoatractocerus grimaldii gen. et sp.n. is described from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil. The new taxon is placed within Atractocerinae. It is distinguished from all modern genera of the subfamily by a M+Cu fork in the hind wing venation. Cratoatractocerus grimaldii is the oldest known representative of Lymexylidae and considered as the most basal member of Atractocerinae. This fossil proves that this subfamily appeared at least by the Early Cretaceous.

scholarly journals Isolated teeth of Anhangueria  (Pterosauria: Pterodactyloidea) from the Lower Cretaceous of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Brougham ◽  
Elizabeth T. Smith ◽  
Phil R. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Lower Cretaceous ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Global Distribution ◽  
Formal Description ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Life Habits

The fossil record of Australian pterosaurs is sparse, consisting of only a small number of isolated and fragmentary remains from the Cretaceous of Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria. Here, we describe two isolated pterosaur teeth from the Lower Cretaceous (middle Albian) Griman Creek Formation at Lightning Ridge (New South Wales) and identify them as indeterminate members of the pterodactyloid clade Anhangueria. This represents the first formal description of pterosaur material from New South Wales. The presence of one or more anhanguerian pterosaurs at Lightning Ridge correlates with the presence of ‘ornithocheirid’ andAnhanguera-like pterosaurs from the contemporaneous Toolebuc Formation of central Queensland and the global distribution attained by ornithocheiroids during the Early Cretaceous. The morphology of the teeth and their presence in the estuarine- and lacustrine-influenced Griman Creek Formation is likely indicative of similar life habits of the tooth bearer to other members of Anhangueria.

scholarly journals 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

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-Da Xing ◽  
Martin G. Lockley ◽  
Hendrik Klein ◽  
Li-Jun Zhang ◽  
Anthony Romilio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lower Cretaceous ◽  
Sichuan Province ◽  
Theropod Tracks

AbstractThe 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 “Eubrontes-Megalosauripus” 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 well-preserved trackway and represents the first-named Eubrontes ichnospecies from the Cretaceous of Asia.

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