Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Menu
Find a journal Publish with us
Search
Cart
  1. Home
  2. Chinese Science Bulletin
  3. Article

A new early cretaceous dinosaur track assemblage and the first definite non-avian theropod swim trackway from China

  • Article
  • Geology
  • Open Access
  • Published: 10 April 2013
  • volume 58, pages 2370–2378 (2013)
Download PDF

You have full access to this open access article

Chinese Science Bulletin
A new early cretaceous dinosaur track assemblage and the first definite non-avian theropod swim trackway from China
Download PDF
  • LiDa Xing1,2,
  • Martin G. Lockley3,
  • JianPing Zhang1,
  • Andrew R. C. Milner4,
  • Hendrik Klein5,
  • DaQing Li6,
  • W. Scott Persons IV2 &
  • …
  • JieFang Ebi7 
  • 2642 Accesses

  • 40 Citations

  • 5 Altmetric

  • 2 Mentions

  • Explore all metrics

  • Cite this article

Abstract

The trackway of a swimming theropod (ichnogenus Characichnos) is reported from the Lower Cretaceous Feitianshan Formation of Sichuan, China. These swim tracks help confirm that non-avian theropods were capable of forging moderately deep bodies of water. The trackway occurs on the same surface as a typical walking trackway of a sauropod (ichnogenus Brontopodus). Both occurrences are the first reported from the Cretaceous of Sichuan, and the swim tracks are the first well-preserved example of a Characichnos trackway from China. Additionally, a theropod walking trackway and several ornithopod walking trackways (similar to the ichnogenus Caririchnium) occur in the same horizon. The ornithopod trackways show a parallel orientation, suggesting gregarious behavior of the trackmakers, which may have been iguanodontiforms and/or hadrosauriforms. The co-occurrence of theropod swim tracks and theropod walking tracks suggests a fluctuation of water depth within a distinct time span.

Download to read the full article text

Use our pre-submission checklist

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

References

  1. Lockley M G, Hunt A P. Dinosaur Tracks and Other Fossil Footprints of the Western United States. New York: Columbia University Press, 1995. 338

    Google Scholar 

  2. Anderson A. Fish trails from the Early Permian of South Africa. Palaeontology, 1976, 19: 397–409

    Google Scholar 

  3. Lockley M G, Wright J L. Pterosaur swim tracks and other ichnological evidence of behaviour and ecology. Geol Soc Lond Spec Publ, 2003, 217: 297–313

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Thulborn R A. Dinosaur Tracks. London: Chapman, 1990. 410

    Book  Google Scholar 

  5. Milner A R C, Lockley M G, Kirkland J I. A large collection of well-preserved theropod dinosaur swim tracks from the Lower Jurassic Moenave Formation, St. George, Utah. New Mex Mus Nat Hist Sci Bull, 2006, 37: 315–328

    Google Scholar 

  6. Whyte M A. Romano M. A dinosaur ichnocoenosis from the Middle Jurassic of Yorkshire, UK. Ichnos, 2001, 8: 233–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Gierliński G, Niedźwiedzki G, Pieńkowski G. Tetrapod track assemblage in the Hettangian of Sołtyków, Poland, and its paleoenvironmental background. Ichnos, 2004, 11: 195–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Ezquerra R, Doublet S, Costeur L, et al. Were non-avian theropod dinosaurs able to swim? Supportive evidence from an Early Cretaceous trackway, Cameros Basin (La Rioja, Spain). Geology, 2007, 35: 507–510

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Liu J, Li K, Yang C Y, et al. Preliminary study on fossils of dinosaur footprints and its significance from Zhaojue area of Xichang County in Sichuan Province. Earth Sci Front, 2010, 17(Special Issue): 230–231

    Google Scholar 

  10. Wei M, Xie S J. Jurassic and Early Cretaceous ostracods from Xichang area, Sichuan (in Chinese). Bull Chengdu Inst Geol Min Res, 1987, 8: 17–31

    Google Scholar 

  11. Swanson B A, Carlson K J. Walk, wade or swim? Vertebrate traces on an Early Permian lakeshore. Palaios, 2002, 17: 123–133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. DeBlieux D D, Kirkland J I, Smith J A, et al. An overview of the vertebrate paleontology of Late Triassic and Early Jurassic rocks in Zion National Park, Utah. The Triassic/Jurassic Terrestrial Transition, Abstracts Volume, 2005, 2

    Google Scholar 

  13. DeBlieux D D, Smith J A, McGuire J A, et al. A paleontological inventory of Zion National Park, Utah and the use of GIS to create Paleontological Sensitivity Maps for use in resource management. J Vert Paleont, 2003, 23: 45A

    Google Scholar 

  14. Milner A R C, Spears S Z, Foss S E, et al. Urban interface paleontology in Washington County, Utah. In: Foss S E, Cavin J L, Brown T, et al., eds. Proceedings of the Eighth Conference on Fossil Resources, St. George, Utah, 2009. 131–151

    Google Scholar 

  15. Hunt A P, Lucas S G. Tetrapod ichnofacies: A new paradigm. Ichnos, 2007, 14: 59–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Lockley M G, Fanelli D, Honda K, et al. Crocodile waterways and dinosaur freeways: Implications of multiple swim track assemblages from the Cretaceous Dakota Group, Golden area, Colorado. New Mex Mus Nat Hist Sci Bull, 2010, 51: 137–156

    Google Scholar 

  17. Lockley M G, Cart K, Martin J, et al. A bonanza of new tetrapod tracksites from the Cretaceous Dakota Group, western Colorado: Implications for paleoecology. New Mex Mus Nat Hist Sci Bull (in press)

  18. Xing L D, Harris J D, Gierliński G D. Therangospodus and Megalosauripus track assemblage from the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Tuchengzi Formation of Chicheng County, Hebei Province, China and Their Paleoecological Implications. Vert PalAsiat, 2011, 49: 423–434

    Google Scholar 

  19. Kuban G J. Elongate Dinosaur Tracks. In: Gillette D D, Lockley M G, eds. Dinosaur Tracks and Traces. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. 428–440

    Google Scholar 

  20. Xing L D, Harris J D, Gierliński G D, et al. Middle Cretaceous non-avian theropod trackways from the southern margin of the Sichuan Basin, China. Acta Palaeontol Sin, 2011, 50: 470–480

    Google Scholar 

  21. Gierliński G. New dinosaur ichnotaxa from the Early Jurassic of the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol, 1991, 85: 137–148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Gierliński G. Dinosaur ichnotaxa from the Lower Jurassic of Hungary. Geol Quart, 1996, 40: 119–128

    Google Scholar 

  23. Gierliński G, Ahlberg A. Late Triassic and Early Jurassic dinosaur footprints in the Höganäs Formation of southern Sweden. Ichnos, 1994, 3: 99–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Piubelli D, Avanzini M, Mietto P. The Early Jurassic ichnogenus Kayentapus at Lavino de Marco ichnosite (NE Italy). Global distribution and paleogeographic implications. Bull Geol Soc Italy, 2005, 124: 259–267

    Google Scholar 

  25. Weems R E. A re-evaluation of the taxonomy of Newark Supergroup saurischian dinosaur tracks, using extensive statistical data from a recently exposed tracksite near Culpeper Virginia. In: Sweet P C, ed. Proceedings of the 26th Forum on the Geology of Industrial Minerals: Virginia, Division of Mineral Resources. Division of Mineral Resources, Virginia, 1992. 113–127

    Google Scholar 

  26. Sternberg C M. Dinosaur tracks from Peace River, British Columbia. Bull Natl Mus Canada, 1932, 68: 9–85

    Google Scholar 

  27. Gierliński G D, Ploch I, Gawor-Biedowa, et al. The first evidence of dinosaur tracks in the Upper Cretaceous of Poland. Oryctos, 2008, 8: 107–113

    Google Scholar 

  28. Cowan J, Lockley M G, Gierliński G. First dromaeosaur trackways from North America: New evidence from a large site in the Cedar Mountain Formation (Early Cretaceous), eastern Utah. J Vert Paleont, 2010, 30: 75A

    Google Scholar 

  29. Gangloff R A, May K C. An early Late Cretaceous dinosaur tracksite in Central Yukon Territory, Canada. Ichnos, 2004, 11: 299–309

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Li D Q, Azuma Y, Fujita M, et al. A preliminary report on two new vertebrate track sites including dinosaurs from the early Cretaceous Hekou Group, Gansu Province, China. J Paleont Soc Korea, 2006, 22: 29–49

    Google Scholar 

  31. Zhang J P, Li D Q, Li M L, et al. Diverse dinosaur, pterosaur and bird-track assemblages from the Hakou Formation, Lower Cretaceous of Gansu Province, northwest China. Cret Res, 2006, 27: 44–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Lockley M G, Wright J, White D, et al. The first sauropod trackways from China. Cret Res, 2002, 23: 363–381

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Xing L D, Harris J D, Jia C K. Dinosaur tracks from the Lower Cretaceous Mengtuan Formation in Jiangsu, China and morphological diversity of local sauropod tracks. Acta Palaeontol Sin, 2010, 49: 448–460

    Google Scholar 

  34. Farlow J O, Pittman J G, Hawthorne J M. Brontopodus birdi, Lower Cretaceous dinosaur footprints from the U.S. Gulf Coastal Plain. In: Gillette D D, Lockley M G, eds. Dinosaur Tracks and Traces. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. 371–394

    Google Scholar 

  35. Lockley M G, Farlow J O, Meyer C A. Brontopodus and Parabrontopodus ichnogen. nov. and the significance of wide- and narrow- gauge sauropod trackways. Gaia, 1994, 10: 135–146

    Google Scholar 

  36. Santos V F, Moratalla J J, Royo-Torres R. New sauropod trackways from the Middle Jurassic of Portugal. Acta Palaeontol Pol, 2009, 54,3: 409–422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Xing L D, Wang F P, Pan S G, et al. The discovery of dinosaur footprints from the Middle Cretaceous Jiaguan Formation of Qijiang County, Chongqing City. Acta Geol Sin-Chin, 2007, 81: 1591–1602

    Google Scholar 

  38. Lockley M G. Dinosaur footprints from the Dakota Group of eastern Colorado. Mount Geol, 1987, 24: 107–122

    Google Scholar 

  39. Hunt A P, Lucas S G. A reevaluation of the vertebrate Ichnofauna of the Mesa Rica Sandstone and Pajarito Formations (Lower Cretaceous: Late Albian), Clayton Lake State Park, New Mexico. New Mexico Geol, 1996, 18: 57

    Google Scholar 

  40. Lee Y N. Bird and dinosaur footprints in the Woodbine Formation (Cenomanian), Texas. Cret Res, 1997, 18: 849–864

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Lockley M G, Nadon G, Currie P J, et al. A diverse dinosaur-bird footprint assemblage from the Lance Formation, Upper Cretaceous, Eastern Wyoming: Implications for ichnotaxonomy. Ichnos, 2003, 11: 229–249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Leonardi G. Le impreinte fossili di dinosauri. In: Bonaparte J F, Colbert E H, Currie P J, et al., eds. Sulle Orme de Dinosauri. Venezia: Erizzo, 1984. 333

    Google Scholar 

  43. Huh M, Hwang K G, Paik I S, et al. Dinosaur tracks from the Cretaceous of South Korea: Distribution, occurrences and paleobiological significance. Island Arc, 2003, 12: 132–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Matsukawa M, Shibata K, Kukihara R, et al. Review of Japanese dinosaur track localities: Implications for ichnotaxonomy, paleogeography and stratigraphic correlation. Ichnos, 2005, 12: 201–222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Xing L D, Bell P R, Harris J D, et al. An unusual, three-dimensionally preserved, large hadrosauriform pes track from “mid”-Cretaceous Jiaguan Formation of Chongqing, China. Acta Geol Sin-Engl, 2012, 86: 304–312

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Alexander R. Estimates of speeds of dinosaurs. Nature, 1976, 261: 129–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Thulborn R A. The gaits of dinosaurs. In: Gillette D D, Lockley M G, eds. Dinosaur Tracks and Traces. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. 39–50

    Google Scholar 

  48. Henderson D M. Footprints, trackways, and hip heights of bipedal dinosaurs—Testing hip height predictions with computer models. Ichnos, 2003, 10: 99–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Romilio A, Tucker R T, Salisbury S W. Reevaluation of the Lark Quarry Dinosaur tracksite (late Albian-Cenomanian Winton Formation, central-western Queensland, Australia): No longer a stampede? J Vert Paleont, 2013, 33: 102–120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Lockley M G, Hunt A P. Fossil Footprints of the Dinosaur Ridge Area. Denver: A Joint Publication of the Friends of Dinosaur Ridge and the University of Colorado at Denver. 1994. 53

    Google Scholar 

  51. Zhen S N, Li J J, Zhang B K, et al. Dinosaur and bird footprints from the Lower Cretaceous of Emei County, Sichuan, China (in Chinese). Mem Beijing Nat Hist, 1995, 54: 105–120

    Google Scholar 

  52. Wilson J A, Carrano M T. Titanosaurs and the origin of “widegauge” trackways: A biomechanical and systematic perspective on sauropod locomotion. Paleobiology, 1999, 25: 252–267

    Google Scholar 

  53. Wang C S. First record of Cretaceous dinosaur from Sichuan. Vert PalAsiat, 1976, 14: 78

    Google Scholar 

  54. Farlow J O, O’Brien M, Kuban G J, et al. Dinosaur tracksites of the Paluxy River Valley (Glen Rose Formation, Lower Cretaceous), Dinosaur Valley State Park, Somervell County, Texas. In: Proceedings of the V International Symposium about Dinosaur Palaeontology and their Environment. Salas de los Infantes, Burgos. 2012. 41–69

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of the Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083, China

    LiDa Xing & JianPing Zhang

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, 11455 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada

    LiDa Xing & W. Scott Persons IV

  3. Dinosaur Tracks Museum, University of Colorado Denver, PO Box 173364, Denver, Colorado, 80217, USA

    Martin G. Lockley

  4. St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm, 2180 East Riverside Drive, St. George, Utah, 84790, USA

    Andrew R. C. Milner

  5. Saurierwelt Paläontologisches Museum, Alte Richt 7, D-92318, Neumarkt, Germany

    Hendrik Klein

  6. Geological Museum of Gansu, Lanzhou, 730040, China

    DaQing Li

  7. Zhaojue County Bureau of Culture, Multimedia, Press & Sport Tourism, Zhaojue, 616150, China

    JieFang Ebi

Authors
  1. LiDa Xing
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Martin G. Lockley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. JianPing Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Andrew R. C. Milner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Hendrik Klein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. DaQing Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. W. Scott Persons IV
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. JieFang Ebi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to LiDa Xing.

Additional information

This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com

Rights and permissions

This article is published under an open access license. Please check the 'Copyright Information' section either on this page or in the PDF for details of this license and what re-use is permitted. If your intended use exceeds what is permitted by the license or if you are unable to locate the licence and re-use information, please contact the Rights and Permissions team.

About this article

Cite this article

Xing, L., Lockley, M.G., Zhang, J. et al. A new early cretaceous dinosaur track assemblage and the first definite non-avian theropod swim trackway from China. Chin. Sci. Bull. 58, 2370–2378 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-013-5802-6

Download citation

  • Received: 06 December 2012

  • Accepted: 20 February 2013

  • Published: 10 April 2013

  • Issue Date: July 2013

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-013-5802-6

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Keywords

  • theropod swim tracks
  • sauropod tracks
  • ornithopod tracks
  • Feitianshan Formation
  • Early Cretaceous
Use our pre-submission checklist

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Advertisement

Search

Navigation

  • Find a journal
  • Publish with us

Discover content

  • Journals A-Z
  • Books A-Z

Publish with us

  • Publish your research
  • Open access publishing

Products and services

  • Our products
  • Librarians
  • Societies
  • Partners and advertisers

Our imprints

  • Springer
  • Nature Portfolio
  • BMC
  • Palgrave Macmillan
  • Apress
  • Your US state privacy rights
  • Accessibility statement
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Help and support

Not affiliated

Springer Nature

© 2023 Springer Nature