[dinosaur] Polyonyx-like sauropod tracks from Jurassic red beds of Morocco

Ben Creisler
[email protected]


A new paper:


Mostafa Oukassou,Hendrik Klein, Abdelouahed Lagnaoui, André Charrière,
Hafid Saber, Gerard D. Gierliński, Jens N. Lallensack, Abdelkbir Hminna,
Ayoub Boumaalif, Ahmed Oussou & Driss Ouarhache (2019)
Polyonyx-like tracks from Middle-?Upper Jurassic red beds of Morocco:
implications for sauropod communities on southern margins of Tethys.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (advance online
publication)
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1016_j.palaeo.2019.109394&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=raPMFJHaQ9ysCDLlg5C5_ZGqS9pfK1Qh2B2JTg7OHWI&s=oxpu-8nIRonBKEiHPV0dqW-04IxR2Ey3-LUvDiQ2i2g&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.sciencedirect.com_science_article_abs_pii_S0031018219306145&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=raPMFJHaQ9ysCDLlg5C5_ZGqS9pfK1Qh2B2JTg7OHWI&s=jhgYGUfExkMUB7fzrBpofv5NaI2rC5WKngJ4PIy7Lwo&e= 

Highlights

Diverse dinosaur-dominated ichnofauna are reported from Jurassic red beds
at Imilchil, Morocco.
We describe, in detail, a long sauropod trackway of Polyonyx type.
Ichnotaxonomy of Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous sauropod tracks is
reviewed.
Findings improve knowledge of sauropods along the southern margin of the
Tethys.

Abstract

A new dinosaur tracksite is reported from continental red beds of the
Jurassic (Late Bathonian-?Callovian) Isli Formation along the northern
flank of the Aït Ali ou Ikkou Syncline of the Imilchil area, Central High
Atlas, Morocco. The succession was deposited in a fluvio-lacustrine
environment, and contains at least fourteen track-bearing levels. The
diverse dinosaur-dominated ichnofauna includes the footprints of
crocodylomorphs, pterosaurs, theropods, sauropods and ornithischians,
together with numerous invertebrate traces. Here, we focus on a long
sauropod trackway, which comprises nine consecutive manus-pes sets
preserved as concave epireliefs. The low heteropody and asymmetry of manus
prints with a large digit I (pollex) impression oriented medially, and a
large triangular claw trace, which is posteriorly oriented, are
characteristic of the ichnogenus Polyonyx. Different from typical Polyonyx
is the narrow gauge pattern compared to the wide gauge observed in the type
trackway from Portugal. Additional material from Morocco, similar to
Polyonyx, comprises the trackway of a very small (?juvenile) individual
found close to the main trackway, as well as a short trackway from a
different locality in the Isli Formation. Our data from the Moroccan High
Atlas indicates the presence of basal eusauropods in the Middle
Jurassic-Early Cretaceous interval in the northwestern part of Gondwana for
the first time, and suggests they inhabited a lacustrine paleoenvironment.


<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.avg.com_email-2Dsignature-3Futm-5Fmedium-3Demail-26utm-5Fsource-3Dlink-26utm-5Fcampaign-3Dsig-2Demail-26utm-5Fcontent-3Dwebmail&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=raPMFJHaQ9ysCDLlg5C5_ZGqS9pfK1Qh2B2JTg7OHWI&s=g0hegR8i7WNBgrHJPJhhct7HrnTuhALL2SYbvgpR-AI&e= >
Virus-free.
www.avg.com
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.avg.com_email-2Dsignature-3Futm-5Fmedium-3Demail-26utm-5Fsource-3Dlink-26utm-5Fcampaign-3Dsig-2Demail-26utm-5Fcontent-3Dwebmail&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=raPMFJHaQ9ysCDLlg5C5_ZGqS9pfK1Qh2B2JTg7OHWI&s=g0hegR8i7WNBgrHJPJhhct7HrnTuhALL2SYbvgpR-AI&e= >
<#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>