Bird, dinosaur tracks from Early Cretaceous of China + Clayton Lake Dinosaur tracksite + Late Triassic Nugget Sandstone dinosaur tracks + more
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Ben Creisler
Aug 26, 2024, 4:04:33 PMAug 26
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Ben Creisler
Some recent ichnology papers:
Lida Xing, Daqing Li, Qiyan Chen, Junyan Fu, Chunyong Chou, Lijun Zhang, Wenze You, Kexin Shi & Hendrik Klein (2024)
Early Cretaceous dinosaur, bird and turtle tracks from the Lanzhou-Minhe Basin, Gansu Province, Northwest China
Cretaceous Research 105987
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105987
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667124001605
The Early Cretaceous avian ichnofauna of Laurasia, particularly in East Asia, is remarkably abundant. The northwestern region of China is the most productive area for bird tracks. Recently, four avian-dominated track sites have been discovered in the Cretaceous Lanzhou-Minhe Basin of Gansu, where the shorebird track Koreanaornis, the ankylopollexian track Caririchinium and the turtle track Chelonipus occur. The Kongjiasi site yields a new type of the fluvio-lacustrine Chelonipus ichnocoenosis related to birds, which was previously defined to include only non-avian theropods and turtles. The site is associated with a waterfront foraging site of a Cretaceous shorebird which might be due to the invertebrate-rich substrate. The sole association of both bird and other theropod tracks with e in Chelonipus ichnocoenosis may indicate a difference in the appetite of avian and non-avian theropods for littoral foraging sites. And a review of the global turtle track-related ichnofauna and ichnocoenosis may offer new insights into the qualitative speculation of palaeobathymetry in riparian environments.
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Free pdf:
Lara Sciscio, Christian A. Meyer and Martin G. Lockley (2024)
Unraveling ecological interactions at Purgatoire Valley Dinosaur tracksite bed 1, Colorado, USA
In: Louis H. Taylor, Robert G. Raynolds, and Spencer G. Lucas, eds., 2024, Vertebrate Paleoichnology: A Tribute to Martin Lockley. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 95: 389-401
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383311018_UNRAVELING_ECOLOGICAL_INTERACTIONS_AT_PURGATOIRE_VALLEY_DINOSAUR_TRACKSITE_BED_1_COLORADO_USA
The lowermost track-bearing Bed 1 at the Purgatoire dinosaur tracksite, Colorado, USA, is a continuous and tabular unit of massive wackestones (~0.25 cm thick), overlying thinly-laminated dark shales, presenting a unique paleoenvironment within the lower part of the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation. The sedimentological evidence (biomicrite with vadose silt, desiccation cracks, microkarstification, rootlet traces) shows evidence of a tranquil, shallow-water setting marked by evidence of weak pedogenesis and periodic subaerial exposure. In conjunction with the identification of charophytes, body fossils (fish remains, unionids, gastropods, conchostrachans), and trace fossils (Camborygma-like invertebrate burrows, Equisetum sp. impressions and plant traces, dinosaurs), these features suggest palustrine conditions (carbonate mudstone with plant remains). Together with the underlying finely laminated calcareous mudstones, Bed 1 represents shallow palustrine facies that during its deposition experienced periodic aquifer fluctuations, resulting in episodic wetland retreat and subaerial exposure. Dinosaur tracks present represent a host of tridactyl (Megalosauripus-like and associated morphotypes) and sauropod trackmakers. The latter have caused the significant dinoturbation of Bed 1 and suggest sauropods walking through shallow water in this wetland setting.
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Paul C. Murphey, Anthony Romilio, Neffra A. Matthews, Martin G Lockley, Brent H. Breithaupt, Karen J. Houck, Karen Chin, Andrew Milner, Ignacio Diaz Martinez, Lida Xing & Andreas Jannel (2024)
Track Recognition Via Artificial Cognition (TRAC): Preliminary report on the application of machine learning to identify dinosaur tracks
In: Louis H.Taylor, Robert G. Raynolds, and Spencer G. Lucas, eds., 2024, Vertebrate Paleoichnology: A Tribute to Martin Lockley. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 95: 349-356
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383358117_TRACK_RECOGNITION_VIA_ARTIFICIAL_COGNITION_TRAC_PRELIMINARY_REPORT_ON_THE_APPLICATION_OF_MACHINE_LEARNING_TO_IDENITFY_DINOSAUR_TRACKS
Despite the utilization of new technologies to objectively record and document dinosaur tracks in the field, the categorization and identification of dinosaur tracks remains a largely subjective process. Track Recognition via Artificial Cognition (TRAC) is a project that seeks to provide an objective method for categorizing and identifying dinosaur tracks using track surface photographs. TRAC will employ a combination of different iterations of supervised and unsupervised deep machine learning (ML) approaches to categorize track images drawing from a data set of over 1,000 digital photographs of dinosaur footprint images from around the world. Iterations and adjustments to the ML algorithms will identify natural clusters in the image data set, and our ultimate goal is to build a model capable of assigning an ichnotaxonomic identification to new images that TRAC analyzes. If successful, TRAC can be deployed as an application that can identify dinosaur footprints to ichnotaxon for use by professional paleontologists, citizen scientists, and land managers, with the potential of expanding the scope of the project to include more types of fossils. The TRAC Project is divided into two phases. This paper presents a preliminary report on Phase I, the preparation of the image data set.
====
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Lida Xing, Daqing Li, Qiyan Chen, Junyan Fu, Chunyong Chou, Lijun Zhang, Wenze You, Kexin Shi & Hendrik Klein (2024)
Early Cretaceous dinosaur, bird and turtle tracks from the Lanzhou-Minhe Basin, Gansu Province, Northwest China
Cretaceous Research 105987
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105987
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667124001605
The Early Cretaceous avian ichnofauna of Laurasia, particularly in East Asia, is remarkably abundant. The northwestern region of China is the most productive area for bird tracks. Recently, four avian-dominated track sites have been discovered in the Cretaceous Lanzhou-Minhe Basin of Gansu, where the shorebird track Koreanaornis, the ankylopollexian track Caririchinium and the turtle track Chelonipus occur. The Kongjiasi site yields a new type of the fluvio-lacustrine Chelonipus ichnocoenosis related to birds, which was previously defined to include only non-avian theropods and turtles. The site is associated with a waterfront foraging site of a Cretaceous shorebird which might be due to the invertebrate-rich substrate. The sole association of both bird and other theropod tracks with e in Chelonipus ichnocoenosis may indicate a difference in the appetite of avian and non-avian theropods for littoral foraging sites. And a review of the global turtle track-related ichnofauna and ichnocoenosis may offer new insights into the qualitative speculation of palaeobathymetry in riparian environments.
====
====
Free pdf:
Spencer G. Lucas, John B. Rogers and Michael A. Kvasnak (2024)
Photogrammetric study of the Clayton Lake Dinosaur tracksite, Lower Cretaceous of Northeastern New Mexico, USA
In: Louis H.Taylor, Robert G. Raynolds, and Spencer G. Lucas, eds., 2024, Vertebrate Paleoichnology: A Tribute to Martin Lockley. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 95: 243-269
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383306762_PHOTOGRAMMETRIC_STUDY_OF_THE_CLAYTON_LAKE_DINOSAUR_TRACKSITE_LOWER_CRETACEOUS_OF_NORTHEASTERN_NEW_MEXICO_USA
At Clayton Lake in northeastern New Mexico, USA, an extensive dinosaur tracksite is present across the contact of the Lower Cretaceous (upper Albian) Mesa Rica and Pajarito formations. Dinosaur footprints and other trace fossils are found at four stratigraphic levels, two in the uppermost Mesa Rica Sandstone, and two (including the main track level) in the lowermost Pajarito Formation. These track-bearing strata are fluvio-deltaic sediments that were deposited near the shoreline of the Western Interior seaway. The invertebrate ichnoassemblage of the main track level is shallow burrows assigned to Taenidium, Arenicolites, Planolites and Thalassinoides that are patchily distributed and have bedding plane bioturbation index values that range from 2 to 4. These invertebrate ichnofossils and the vertebrate tracks are a low ichnodiversity assemblage of the Scoyenia ichnofacies, and the presence of Thalassinoides indicates marine influence. The vast majority of the dinosaur tracks at Clayton Lake are of bipedal ornithopods, many of which can be assigned to Caririchnium isp. One quadrupedal trackway can be assigned to Deltapodus, and is an ankylosaur trackway. Theropod tracks are of two kinds, assigned to Magnoavipes isp. and cf. Irenasauripus isp. The vertebrate tracks at Clayton Lake are characteristic of the Brontopodus ichnofacies. A detailed, photogrammetric study of the Clayton Lake tracksite reveals it to be a much more complex tracksite than previously thought. The Clayton tracksite can be divided into a less viscous (less firm or soupy) southeastern third and a more viscous (more firm) remainder that show a definite taphonomic control of the tracks. In the soupy area, deeply impressed ornithopod tracks at Clayton have long metatarsal impressions, and some are associated with toe drags, earlier misinterpreted as tail drags. The tracksite is extensively trampled by dinosaurs and weathered, making it difficult to delineate trackways. To do so, photogrammetric analysis was combined with on-the-ground evaluation to identify 28 trackways that generally trend north-south and are mostly parallel to each other. Our analysis indicates that the main track level at Clayton represents at least two episodes of trackmaking, not the single episode assumed by some previous studies. Thus, the main track surface likely includes some true tracks, but many tracks were also made on layers immediately above that surface and transmitted downward as undertracks. At Clayton Lake, even with the photogrammetric data, footprint outlines and lengths are not easily determined by the various methods in the literature. We used edge-to-edge (rim-to-rim) measurements taken in the field to estimate footprint lengths. These result in walking speed estimates for the ornithopods of 2-7 km/hour, and identify a "trotting" ornithomimosaur progressing at 9.5 km/hour, although the accuracy of these estimates is questionable. Despite their near parallel orientations, the trackways at Clayton are most likely time averaged and not indicative of gregarious behavior.
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Spencer G. Lucas, John B. Rogers and Michael A. Kvasnak (2024)
Photogrammetric study of the Clayton Lake Dinosaur tracksite, Lower Cretaceous of Northeastern New Mexico, USA
In: Louis H.Taylor, Robert G. Raynolds, and Spencer G. Lucas, eds., 2024, Vertebrate Paleoichnology: A Tribute to Martin Lockley. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 95: 243-269
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383306762_PHOTOGRAMMETRIC_STUDY_OF_THE_CLAYTON_LAKE_DINOSAUR_TRACKSITE_LOWER_CRETACEOUS_OF_NORTHEASTERN_NEW_MEXICO_USA
At Clayton Lake in northeastern New Mexico, USA, an extensive dinosaur tracksite is present across the contact of the Lower Cretaceous (upper Albian) Mesa Rica and Pajarito formations. Dinosaur footprints and other trace fossils are found at four stratigraphic levels, two in the uppermost Mesa Rica Sandstone, and two (including the main track level) in the lowermost Pajarito Formation. These track-bearing strata are fluvio-deltaic sediments that were deposited near the shoreline of the Western Interior seaway. The invertebrate ichnoassemblage of the main track level is shallow burrows assigned to Taenidium, Arenicolites, Planolites and Thalassinoides that are patchily distributed and have bedding plane bioturbation index values that range from 2 to 4. These invertebrate ichnofossils and the vertebrate tracks are a low ichnodiversity assemblage of the Scoyenia ichnofacies, and the presence of Thalassinoides indicates marine influence. The vast majority of the dinosaur tracks at Clayton Lake are of bipedal ornithopods, many of which can be assigned to Caririchnium isp. One quadrupedal trackway can be assigned to Deltapodus, and is an ankylosaur trackway. Theropod tracks are of two kinds, assigned to Magnoavipes isp. and cf. Irenasauripus isp. The vertebrate tracks at Clayton Lake are characteristic of the Brontopodus ichnofacies. A detailed, photogrammetric study of the Clayton Lake tracksite reveals it to be a much more complex tracksite than previously thought. The Clayton tracksite can be divided into a less viscous (less firm or soupy) southeastern third and a more viscous (more firm) remainder that show a definite taphonomic control of the tracks. In the soupy area, deeply impressed ornithopod tracks at Clayton have long metatarsal impressions, and some are associated with toe drags, earlier misinterpreted as tail drags. The tracksite is extensively trampled by dinosaurs and weathered, making it difficult to delineate trackways. To do so, photogrammetric analysis was combined with on-the-ground evaluation to identify 28 trackways that generally trend north-south and are mostly parallel to each other. Our analysis indicates that the main track level at Clayton represents at least two episodes of trackmaking, not the single episode assumed by some previous studies. Thus, the main track surface likely includes some true tracks, but many tracks were also made on layers immediately above that surface and transmitted downward as undertracks. At Clayton Lake, even with the photogrammetric data, footprint outlines and lengths are not easily determined by the various methods in the literature. We used edge-to-edge (rim-to-rim) measurements taken in the field to estimate footprint lengths. These result in walking speed estimates for the ornithopods of 2-7 km/hour, and identify a "trotting" ornithomimosaur progressing at 9.5 km/hour, although the accuracy of these estimates is questionable. Despite their near parallel orientations, the trackways at Clayton are most likely time averaged and not indicative of gregarious behavior.
====
Free pdf:
Brooks B Britt, Daniel Chure and George F Engelmann (2024)
Dinosaur tracks associated with a Lagerstätte in the Late Triassic Nugget Sandstone of Northeastern Utah
In: Louis H. Taylor, Robert G. Raynolds, and Spencer G. Lucas, eds., 2024, Vertebrate Paleoichnology: A Tribute to Martin Lockley. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 95: 57-60
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383343333_DINOSAUR_TRACKS_ASSOCIATED_WITH_A_LAGERSTATTE_IN_THE_LATE_TRIASSIC_NUGGET_SANDSTONE_OF_NORTHEASTERN_UTAH
The Saints & Sinners locality in northeastern Utah has yielded over 20,000 mapped vertebrate fossils from the Late Triassic age sediments of the Nugget Sandstone. These fossils pertain to an array of small reptiles along with numerous bones of coelophysoid theropod dinosaurs. Vertebrate tracks occur immediately above, and lateral to the bone-bearing horizon. The tracks and bonebeds both occur within an interdunal interval deposited under lacustrine conditions, bounded above and below by eolian sandstones. The footprints consist almost entirely of tridactyls, grallatorid-grade tracks we ascribe to small theropod dinosaurs. The bonebeds occur in what is interpreted as the shallows and shoreline of an interdunal lake. The tracks occur in thin-bedded sandstones immediately overlying the bonebed horizon and lateral equivalents that represent late phases of the geologically short-lived lake deposited just before eolian dunes migrated across the interdune deposits and buried them.
Brooks B Britt, Daniel Chure and George F Engelmann (2024)
Dinosaur tracks associated with a Lagerstätte in the Late Triassic Nugget Sandstone of Northeastern Utah
In: Louis H. Taylor, Robert G. Raynolds, and Spencer G. Lucas, eds., 2024, Vertebrate Paleoichnology: A Tribute to Martin Lockley. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 95: 57-60
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383343333_DINOSAUR_TRACKS_ASSOCIATED_WITH_A_LAGERSTATTE_IN_THE_LATE_TRIASSIC_NUGGET_SANDSTONE_OF_NORTHEASTERN_UTAH
The Saints & Sinners locality in northeastern Utah has yielded over 20,000 mapped vertebrate fossils from the Late Triassic age sediments of the Nugget Sandstone. These fossils pertain to an array of small reptiles along with numerous bones of coelophysoid theropod dinosaurs. Vertebrate tracks occur immediately above, and lateral to the bone-bearing horizon. The tracks and bonebeds both occur within an interdunal interval deposited under lacustrine conditions, bounded above and below by eolian sandstones. The footprints consist almost entirely of tridactyls, grallatorid-grade tracks we ascribe to small theropod dinosaurs. The bonebeds occur in what is interpreted as the shallows and shoreline of an interdunal lake. The tracks occur in thin-bedded sandstones immediately overlying the bonebed horizon and lateral equivalents that represent late phases of the geologically short-lived lake deposited just before eolian dunes migrated across the interdune deposits and buried them.
====
Free pdf:
Lara Sciscio, Christian A. Meyer and Martin G. Lockley (2024)
Unraveling ecological interactions at Purgatoire Valley Dinosaur tracksite bed 1, Colorado, USA
In: Louis H. Taylor, Robert G. Raynolds, and Spencer G. Lucas, eds., 2024, Vertebrate Paleoichnology: A Tribute to Martin Lockley. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 95: 389-401
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383311018_UNRAVELING_ECOLOGICAL_INTERACTIONS_AT_PURGATOIRE_VALLEY_DINOSAUR_TRACKSITE_BED_1_COLORADO_USA
The lowermost track-bearing Bed 1 at the Purgatoire dinosaur tracksite, Colorado, USA, is a continuous and tabular unit of massive wackestones (~0.25 cm thick), overlying thinly-laminated dark shales, presenting a unique paleoenvironment within the lower part of the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation. The sedimentological evidence (biomicrite with vadose silt, desiccation cracks, microkarstification, rootlet traces) shows evidence of a tranquil, shallow-water setting marked by evidence of weak pedogenesis and periodic subaerial exposure. In conjunction with the identification of charophytes, body fossils (fish remains, unionids, gastropods, conchostrachans), and trace fossils (Camborygma-like invertebrate burrows, Equisetum sp. impressions and plant traces, dinosaurs), these features suggest palustrine conditions (carbonate mudstone with plant remains). Together with the underlying finely laminated calcareous mudstones, Bed 1 represents shallow palustrine facies that during its deposition experienced periodic aquifer fluctuations, resulting in episodic wetland retreat and subaerial exposure. Dinosaur tracks present represent a host of tridactyl (Megalosauripus-like and associated morphotypes) and sauropod trackmakers. The latter have caused the significant dinoturbation of Bed 1 and suggest sauropods walking through shallow water in this wetland setting.
====
Free pdf:
Paul C. Murphey, Anthony Romilio, Neffra A. Matthews, Martin G Lockley, Brent H. Breithaupt, Karen J. Houck, Karen Chin, Andrew Milner, Ignacio Diaz Martinez, Lida Xing & Andreas Jannel (2024)
Track Recognition Via Artificial Cognition (TRAC): Preliminary report on the application of machine learning to identify dinosaur tracks
In: Louis H.Taylor, Robert G. Raynolds, and Spencer G. Lucas, eds., 2024, Vertebrate Paleoichnology: A Tribute to Martin Lockley. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 95: 349-356
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383358117_TRACK_RECOGNITION_VIA_ARTIFICIAL_COGNITION_TRAC_PRELIMINARY_REPORT_ON_THE_APPLICATION_OF_MACHINE_LEARNING_TO_IDENITFY_DINOSAUR_TRACKS
Despite the utilization of new technologies to objectively record and document dinosaur tracks in the field, the categorization and identification of dinosaur tracks remains a largely subjective process. Track Recognition via Artificial Cognition (TRAC) is a project that seeks to provide an objective method for categorizing and identifying dinosaur tracks using track surface photographs. TRAC will employ a combination of different iterations of supervised and unsupervised deep machine learning (ML) approaches to categorize track images drawing from a data set of over 1,000 digital photographs of dinosaur footprint images from around the world. Iterations and adjustments to the ML algorithms will identify natural clusters in the image data set, and our ultimate goal is to build a model capable of assigning an ichnotaxonomic identification to new images that TRAC analyzes. If successful, TRAC can be deployed as an application that can identify dinosaur footprints to ichnotaxon for use by professional paleontologists, citizen scientists, and land managers, with the potential of expanding the scope of the project to include more types of fossils. The TRAC Project is divided into two phases. This paper presents a preliminary report on Phase I, the preparation of the image data set.
====
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