Probable rhabdodontid track from Upper Cretaceous of Poland + diplodocid tail mechanics (dissertation)

[Ben Creisler]

Ben Creisler

bcre...@gmail.com

A new paper:

Gerard Gierliński, Stanisław Jachymek & Piotr Szrek (2025)
Probable rhabdodontid track from the Upper Cretaceous of Poland and associated tetrapod ichnotaxa
Italian Journal of Geosciences 145(1): (1-10)
doi: https://doi.org/10.3301/ijg.2026.01
https://www.italianjournalofgeosciences.it/297/article-1233/probable-rhabdodontid-track-from-the-upper-cretaceous-of-poland-and-associated-tetrapod-ichnotaxa.html


We report here the first anomoepodid track from the Upper Cretaceous of Europe referred to the ichnogenus Neoanomoepus. The track was found very recently in the upper Campanian strata of Roztocze Hills, in southeastern Poland. This region was located on the northeastern margin of Kukernitz Island, which was a part of the Late Cretaceous European archipelago. Anomoepodid morphology of the newly found track together with its stratigraphic and paleogeographic location speak in favour of its rhabdodontid affinity. We also discuss here associated tetrapod ichnotaxa from the late Campanian of Roztocze Hills. Discussed and partly reviewed tetrapod ichnoassemblage of Roztocze includes such ichnogenera like cf. Wakinyantanka isp., Hadrosauropodus, Dromaeosauripus isp., cf. Saurexallopus isp. and cf. Haenamichnus isp.

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Also, a recent dissertation available online:

Free pdf:

Grace Ann Goetcheus (2025)
Investigating the connection between paleopathology, histology, and caudal biomechanics of diplodocids (Dinosauria: Sauropoda)
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17918/00011180
https://researchdiscovery.drexel.edu/esploro/outputs/doctoral/991022093052204721


A detailed investigation of the microscopic (material properties and histology), macroscopic (osteological and cartilaginous neutral poses and range of motion), and population (paleoepidemiological study of a monodominant bonebed) level connections to the high prevalence of vertebral pathologies in diplodocid dinosaurs is presented. Using gross morphologic examinations and computed tomography, a survey of a single population of Diplodocus sp. at the Mother's Day Quarry from the Morrison Formation of southern Montana reaffirms the significant concentration of pathologies in caudal vertebrae, with the extent and degree of fusion, especially through ligamentous ossification, increasing throughout ontogeny. Nanoindentation to determine the elasticity and hardness of Alligator mississippiensis vertebrae as an analog for diplodocid caudals reveals that mid-caudal vertebrae are the stiffest and act as a buttress for muscular force transmission, while distal caudal vertebrae are the most pliant under stress. These regions correspond to where vertebral fusion is highest and where vertebrae become "whip-tailed" in flagellicaudatans like diplodocids, respectively. Anterior caudal vertebrae also exhibit high stiffness to accommodate for both the distribution and absorption of forces from the large caudal muscles that propel crocodilians through water--or in the case of sauropods, aid in stabilizing and powering the tail during flexion. Further analysis of the mobility of the tail of Diplodocus hallorum suggests that the species held its caudal series almost entirely linearly and horizontally while in a neutral position. Vertebral co-ossification is associated with the loss of the m. caudofemoralis longus and the area where the risk of ventral inclination is at its highest, supporting the theory that ligamentous ossification in diplodocids is not strictly pathologic but instead acts to reinforce and support this particular region of the tail. The capacity for lateral range of motion in the tail of D. hallorum is greater than that along the dorsal or ventral planes, with fusion at the point of vertebrae with the longest centra acting as a buttress for forces associated with tail whipping in defense or combat, as is observed in many extant archosaurs with long bony tails. The results emphasize the importance of variances in caudal material properties, morphology, and pathology to the paleobiological function and behavior of the whip-tailed diplodocids.

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