Sauropod tracks from Lower Cretaceous of Shandong, China + dinoturbation in Cretaceous Areado Group, Brazil
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Ben Creisler
Jun 6, 2026, 2:19:18 PM (4 days ago) Jun 6
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Ben Creisler
Free pdf:
Bernardo de Campos Pimenta e Marques Peixoto, Luciano Alessandretti, Caio César Rangel, Lucas Warren & Daniel Sedorko (2026)
Dinoturbation in the Cretaceous Areado Group, Sanfranciscana Basin (Brazil)
Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia 29(1): e20260566
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4072/rbp.2026.1.0566
https://sbpbrasil.org/publications/index.php/rbp/article/view/566
Free pdf:
https://sbpbrasil.org/publications/index.php/rbp/article/view/566/295
Soft-sediment deformation structures (SSDS) can be produced by abiotic factors, invertebrate bioturbation, or trampling by large tetrapods. Differentiating between these origins is crucial for ichnological interpretation, particularly in stratigraphic units where body fossils are rare or bedding-plane exposures are limited. In this study, we describe new occurrences of SSDS interpreted as dinoturbations, cross-sectional tracks formed by heavy tetrapods, in the Três Barras Formation (Areado Group, Abaeté Sub-Basin, Sanfranciscana Basin), in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. These structures occur in fine- to medium-grained, cross-bedded sandstones, and preserve downward deformation, faulting, and local compaction. Their features, along with their stratigraphic position, support interpretation as tetrapod trampling traces, possibly produced by dinosaurs. These ichnological findings are significant within the context of the marine incursions into the Sanfranciscana Basin, as the dinoturbations indicate that, at the time of their formation, the environment was continental. This highlights the potential of ichnological data to refine paleoenvironmental reconstructions and to identify stratigraphic intervals in which the depositional system was predominantly continental during episodic marine incursions in intracratonic basins.
Recent papers:
Xinxin Ren, Xuri Wang, Yinuo Wang, Tianlong Ren, Zhigang Zhang & Yichuan Li (2026)
Sauropod tracks from the Lower Cretaceous in Shandong, China: implications for the dominating of non-titanosaurians in East Asia
Cretaceous Research 106432
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2026.106432
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667126001217
Highlights
First Cretaceous dinosaur tracksite from the Wawukuang Formation in Laiyang City, Shandong, China.
This non-titanosaurian somphospondylans ichnocoenosis provides evidence for the presence of abundant dinosaurs, especially non-titanosaurian somphospondylans, in the middle Early Cretaceous of eastern China.
Before the invasion of titanosaurians, the endemic non-titanosaurian somphospondylans were potentially dominating the terrestrial herbivorous fauna in East Asia.
Abstract
Non-avian dinosaurs exhibited large amounts of morphological diversity and wide geographic distribution throughout the Mesozoic Era, including the Cretaceous Period. However, reports from the lower to middle parts of the Lower Cretaceous are still relatively rare globally. Here, we report a new dinosaur tracksite from the Wawukuang Formation in Laiyang City within Shandong, China, which includes instances of middle Lower Cretaceous sauropods and, potentially, ornithopod imprints. Three track-bearing layers have been discovered at this locality, with all layers containing well-preserved and densely-packed imprints in floodplain deposits. Most imprints are preserved in a heavily trampled surface and are referrable to sauropods (potentially non-titanosaurian somphospondylans), and, in total, five trackways are identified. One ornithopod track indet. is recognized, but this ichnotaxonomic identity cannot be confirmed with certainty. A non-titanosaurian somphospondylans ichnogenus provides evidence for the presence of abundant, large-bodied dinosaurs, in the middle part of the Lower Cretaceous of eastern China. The abundance of the trackways in this region suggests that before a titanosaur turnover, the endemic non-titanosaurian somphospondylans were potentially dominant in the terrestrial herbivorous fauna in East Asia. Globally, evidence suggests that narrow-gauge forms attributable to non-titanosaurian titanosauriforms were significantly widespread in the Early Cretaceous.
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Xinxin Ren, Xuri Wang, Yinuo Wang, Tianlong Ren, Zhigang Zhang & Yichuan Li (2026)
Sauropod tracks from the Lower Cretaceous in Shandong, China: implications for the dominating of non-titanosaurians in East Asia
Cretaceous Research 106432
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2026.106432
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667126001217
Highlights
First Cretaceous dinosaur tracksite from the Wawukuang Formation in Laiyang City, Shandong, China.
This non-titanosaurian somphospondylans ichnocoenosis provides evidence for the presence of abundant dinosaurs, especially non-titanosaurian somphospondylans, in the middle Early Cretaceous of eastern China.
Before the invasion of titanosaurians, the endemic non-titanosaurian somphospondylans were potentially dominating the terrestrial herbivorous fauna in East Asia.
Abstract
Non-avian dinosaurs exhibited large amounts of morphological diversity and wide geographic distribution throughout the Mesozoic Era, including the Cretaceous Period. However, reports from the lower to middle parts of the Lower Cretaceous are still relatively rare globally. Here, we report a new dinosaur tracksite from the Wawukuang Formation in Laiyang City within Shandong, China, which includes instances of middle Lower Cretaceous sauropods and, potentially, ornithopod imprints. Three track-bearing layers have been discovered at this locality, with all layers containing well-preserved and densely-packed imprints in floodplain deposits. Most imprints are preserved in a heavily trampled surface and are referrable to sauropods (potentially non-titanosaurian somphospondylans), and, in total, five trackways are identified. One ornithopod track indet. is recognized, but this ichnotaxonomic identity cannot be confirmed with certainty. A non-titanosaurian somphospondylans ichnogenus provides evidence for the presence of abundant, large-bodied dinosaurs, in the middle part of the Lower Cretaceous of eastern China. The abundance of the trackways in this region suggests that before a titanosaur turnover, the endemic non-titanosaurian somphospondylans were potentially dominant in the terrestrial herbivorous fauna in East Asia. Globally, evidence suggests that narrow-gauge forms attributable to non-titanosaurian titanosauriforms were significantly widespread in the Early Cretaceous.
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Now with full text and pdf:
Free pdf:
Bernardo de Campos Pimenta e Marques Peixoto, Luciano Alessandretti, Caio César Rangel, Lucas Warren & Daniel Sedorko (2026)
Dinoturbation in the Cretaceous Areado Group, Sanfranciscana Basin (Brazil)
Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia 29(1): e20260566
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4072/rbp.2026.1.0566
https://sbpbrasil.org/publications/index.php/rbp/article/view/566
Free pdf:
https://sbpbrasil.org/publications/index.php/rbp/article/view/566/295
Soft-sediment deformation structures (SSDS) can be produced by abiotic factors, invertebrate bioturbation, or trampling by large tetrapods. Differentiating between these origins is crucial for ichnological interpretation, particularly in stratigraphic units where body fossils are rare or bedding-plane exposures are limited. In this study, we describe new occurrences of SSDS interpreted as dinoturbations, cross-sectional tracks formed by heavy tetrapods, in the Três Barras Formation (Areado Group, Abaeté Sub-Basin, Sanfranciscana Basin), in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. These structures occur in fine- to medium-grained, cross-bedded sandstones, and preserve downward deformation, faulting, and local compaction. Their features, along with their stratigraphic position, support interpretation as tetrapod trampling traces, possibly produced by dinosaurs. These ichnological findings are significant within the context of the marine incursions into the Sanfranciscana Basin, as the dinoturbations indicate that, at the time of their formation, the environment was continental. This highlights the potential of ichnological data to refine paleoenvironmental reconstructions and to identify stratigraphic intervals in which the depositional system was predominantly continental during episodic marine incursions in intracratonic basins.
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