Small theropod-dominated footprint assemblages from Middle Jurassic of Scotland (free pdf)
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Ben Creisler
Sep 17, 2025, 11:36:21 AM (11 days ago) Sep 17
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Ben Creisler
A new paper:
Free pdf:
Tone Blakesley, Paige E. dePolo, Dugald A. Ross, Neil D. L. Clark and Stephen L. Brusatte (2025)
Small theropod-dominated dinosaur footprint assemblages in the Middle Jurassic Valtos Sandstone and Kilmaluag Formations on the Isle of Skye, Scotland
Royal Society Open Science 12(9): 251016
doi: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.251016
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.251016
Free pdf:
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/epdf/10.1098/rsos.251016
Middle Jurassic deposits on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, are improving our understanding of the distribution, palaeoenvironmental preferences and behaviour of theropod dinosaurs from a time when the global fossil record is sparse. Here, we describe and classify 185 Bathonian-aged ex situ dinosaur tracks from Skye’s Trotternish Peninsula—many described for the first time and imaged using photogrammetric techniques—into four morphotypes within a new Hebridean series. In the freshwater, closed-lagoonal Kilmaluag Formation at Lùb Score, smaller morphotypes are more abundant than larger equivalents in the freshwater–brackish fluviodeltaic Valtos Sandstone Formation at Valtos. Although assessable outcrops of track-bearing horizons are limited, we infer that the proximity to, or suitability of, specific palaeoenvironments for different-sized trackmakers may influence assemblage composition. Scarce surfaces with multiple tracks indicate potential trackmaker behaviours in respective palaeoenvironments, including foraging at Valtos and post-hatchling care at Lùb Score. The tracks most likely represent traces of a large megalosaurid and multiple smaller-bodied basal coelurosaurian or non-coelurosaurian (e.g. Ceratosauria, Megalosauroidea, Allosauroidea) theropods. The documentation of these trackmakers and their behaviours further enriches our understanding of dinosaur faunas during this poorly known time.
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Free pdf:
Tone Blakesley, Paige E. dePolo, Dugald A. Ross, Neil D. L. Clark and Stephen L. Brusatte (2025)
Small theropod-dominated dinosaur footprint assemblages in the Middle Jurassic Valtos Sandstone and Kilmaluag Formations on the Isle of Skye, Scotland
Royal Society Open Science 12(9): 251016
doi: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.251016
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.251016
Free pdf:
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/epdf/10.1098/rsos.251016
Middle Jurassic deposits on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, are improving our understanding of the distribution, palaeoenvironmental preferences and behaviour of theropod dinosaurs from a time when the global fossil record is sparse. Here, we describe and classify 185 Bathonian-aged ex situ dinosaur tracks from Skye’s Trotternish Peninsula—many described for the first time and imaged using photogrammetric techniques—into four morphotypes within a new Hebridean series. In the freshwater, closed-lagoonal Kilmaluag Formation at Lùb Score, smaller morphotypes are more abundant than larger equivalents in the freshwater–brackish fluviodeltaic Valtos Sandstone Formation at Valtos. Although assessable outcrops of track-bearing horizons are limited, we infer that the proximity to, or suitability of, specific palaeoenvironments for different-sized trackmakers may influence assemblage composition. Scarce surfaces with multiple tracks indicate potential trackmaker behaviours in respective palaeoenvironments, including foraging at Valtos and post-hatchling care at Lùb Score. The tracks most likely represent traces of a large megalosaurid and multiple smaller-bodied basal coelurosaurian or non-coelurosaurian (e.g. Ceratosauria, Megalosauroidea, Allosauroidea) theropods. The documentation of these trackmakers and their behaviours further enriches our understanding of dinosaur faunas during this poorly known time.
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