Dinosaur tracks from Upper Jurassic – Lower Cretaceous Chacarilla Formation in Chile (free pdf)
Ben Creisler
Free pdf:
Vincenzo Gesualdi, Matteo Belvedere, Marko Yurac, Dorothee Hippler, Nejla Hurem, Christian Salazar, Javiera Mendez & Christian A. Meyer (2025)
Diverse dinosaur tracks from the Upper Jurassic – Lower Cretaceous Chacarilla Formation of Quebrada de Arcas, northeast Chile: Evidence of high ichnodiversity in an arid palaeoenviroment
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 113088
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113088
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031018225003736
Highlights
New track-bearing surfaces are found in the Chacarilla Fm. in Quebrada des Arca.
Five morphotypes: one of sauropod and four for different size theropod tracks are defined.
Huge theropod tracks have been found and identified.
Abstract
We report diverse dinosaur tracks from siltstone to fine-grained sandstone facies of the Chacarilla Formation, Quebrada de Arcas of northeast Chile. Track-bearing surfaces were studied using 3D modelling and false-colour depth maps, derived from UAV photographs. Five morphotypes are identified based on morphology and morphometric criteria. Morphotype I comprises rounded tracks with a consistent narrow-gauge and resembles the sauropod ichnogenus, Parabrontopodus; diplodocids or titanosaurids are probable trackmakers. Morphotype II is assigned to the theropod ichnotaxon Abelichnus astigerrae and comprises some of the largest theropod tracks ever recorded from South America with a maximum footprint length of 51 cm; the trackmaker was most likely a large carcharodontosaurid, such as Giganotosaurus carolinii. Morphotype III is an indeterminate theropod track, which shows a distinctive and prominent metatarsal impression, but does not closely match any ichnotaxon although it bears some morphometrical affinity to Changpeipus carbonicus. The Morphotypes IV and V both belong to small-sized theropod trackmakers, and resemble Grallatoridae and Kayentapus-like forms, respectively. Additional theropod material cannot be assigned to specific morphotypes or trackmakers, due to poor preservation. Our findings show the existence of three distinct size classes (small, medium and large) of theropod morphotypes and point to a high ichnodiversity at the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition in the subtropical arid environments of Gondwana.
Juan Pablo Busso
Dear Dr. Creisler,
I hope you’re doing well. My name is Juan Pablo Busso, and I’ve been following the Dinosaur Mailing Group (DMG)—particularly your informative posts sharing recent dinosaur-related publications and resources.
I’m currently working on a Machine Learning Project that reconstructs dinosaur skeletons based on partial fossil records, and I’d love to introduce it to the DMG community. Before doing so, I want to be sure I’m following the group’s etiquette and guidelines—for example, respecting the scientific tone of the list, avoiding off-topic posts, and understanding how best to share technical content .
Specifically, I’d appreciate your guidance on:
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Has the group welcomed similar project announcements (especially tech‑oriented tools)?
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Is there a preferred format (e.g., direct links, brief summaries, or attachments)?
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Are there policies on posting PDFs, demos, or follow-ups?
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Is it best to introduce myself privately first, or post directly to the list?
I respect that this is a large, scientific-focused community, and I’d like to make my contribution as useful and appropriate as possible.
Thank you in advance for your time and advice. I’m enthusiastic about sharing my work and learning from the DMG community.
Best regards,
Juan Pablo Busso--
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