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No evidence for swimming sauropods at Bird's Texas dinosaur track site (free pdf)
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Ben Creisler
Feb 11, 2025, 4:48:11 PMFeb 11
to DinosaurMa...@googlegroups.com
Ben Creisler
A new paper:
Thomas L. Adams, Dianna Price, Alexis Godet, Judy Neuman, Charles Davis, Asmara A. Lehrmann & Daniel J. Lehrmann (2025)
Revisiting Bird’s swimming sauropod: new insights on Manus-dominated Dinosaur Tracks from the Mayan Dude Ranch in Bandera, Texas
Historical Biology (advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2025.2461068
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2025.2461068
Free pdf:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/08912963.2025.2461068
Recent discoveries at Roland T. Bird’s famous ‘swimming brontosaur’ tracksite on the Mayan Dude Ranch in South Texas have resulted in seven additional footprints in Bird’s original sauropod trail, as well as a second manus-dominated sauropod trackway and a single theropod track. Our new study has applied ichnological, photogrammetric, microscopic and geochemical methods. This site has provoked much debate about the preservation of manus-only and manus-dominated tracksites, as well as sauropod locomotion and behaviour. Discussions have focused on whether these trace fossils are a result of a swimming sauropod, or that the manus-dominated trackways could be simply underprints. The results of our study indicate that the second manus-dominated sauropod trackway records partial pes impressions with 4 of the 5 steps preserved. Along with the single theropod track, this indicates that the individuals were not buoyed up by deep water and were not kicking off the bottom with their forelimbs. Depositional evidence demonstrates exceedingly shallow-water conditions (less than one metre) and partial marine lithification of the substrate, hence ruling out a swimming sauropod origin of the tracks.
==
Free pdf:
Thomas L. Adams, Dianna Price, Alexis Godet, Judy Neuman, Charles Davis, Asmara A. Lehrmann & Daniel J. Lehrmann (2025)
Revisiting Bird’s swimming sauropod: new insights on Manus-dominated Dinosaur Tracks from the Mayan Dude Ranch in Bandera, Texas
Historical Biology (advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2025.2461068
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2025.2461068
Free pdf:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/08912963.2025.2461068
Recent discoveries at Roland T. Bird’s famous ‘swimming brontosaur’ tracksite on the Mayan Dude Ranch in South Texas have resulted in seven additional footprints in Bird’s original sauropod trail, as well as a second manus-dominated sauropod trackway and a single theropod track. Our new study has applied ichnological, photogrammetric, microscopic and geochemical methods. This site has provoked much debate about the preservation of manus-only and manus-dominated tracksites, as well as sauropod locomotion and behaviour. Discussions have focused on whether these trace fossils are a result of a swimming sauropod, or that the manus-dominated trackways could be simply underprints. The results of our study indicate that the second manus-dominated sauropod trackway records partial pes impressions with 4 of the 5 steps preserved. Along with the single theropod track, this indicates that the individuals were not buoyed up by deep water and were not kicking off the bottom with their forelimbs. Depositional evidence demonstrates exceedingly shallow-water conditions (less than one metre) and partial marine lithification of the substrate, hence ruling out a swimming sauropod origin of the tracks.
==
Ben Creisler
Mar 17, 2025, 5:31:24 PMMar 17
to DinosaurMa...@googlegroups.com
An editorial follow-up:
Jack A. Cooper (2025)
Recontextualising a classic ‘dinosaur trackway’
Free pdf:
Jack A. Cooper (2025)
Recontextualising a classic ‘dinosaur trackway’
Historical Biology (advance online publication)
https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2025.2479395
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2025.2479395
Free pdf:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/08912963.2025.2479395
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2025.2479395
Free pdf:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/08912963.2025.2479395
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