[dinosaur] Dinosaur tracks from Cretaceous of Thailand + British Columbia Cretaceous Sustut River site + Chinle Formation

Ben Creisler
[email protected]

Some recent dino-related papers:


Tida Liard, Romain Liard & Krishna Sutcha (2019)
Dinosaur footprints from the Sao Khua Formation (Early Cretaceous) of Phu
Kao National Park, Northeast Thailand.
Annales de Paléontologie (advance online publication)
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1016_j.annpal.2019.07.001&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=ySMHwhhY2uQkcrQd5MYpvKrGZCO3IgKMqXpTAERX40s&s=0pafWCei2wbM8g2jsRURQp1LsPcOe5nEpnaCsAwOzaY&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.sciencedirect.com_science_article_abs_pii_S0753396919300412&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=ySMHwhhY2uQkcrQd5MYpvKrGZCO3IgKMqXpTAERX40s&s=OwT-b9GGtxuUrRlNAjaWp69_VIb0mvMwcTHp5ybHYvM&e= 

The first documented dinosaur footprints from Southeast Asia were theropod
footprints found in Thailand at Phu Luang Wildlife Sanctuary. Since then,
Mesozoic vertebrate footprints have been discovered in twelve different
localities in Thailand. In 2000, dinosaur footprints were found in Phu Kao
National Park in Northeastern Thailand, however, they have never been
studied in detail. The following study presents the first map, the complete
measurements, the geology, and stratigraphy of the site and surrounding
area. The study discusses the nature of the trackmaker and the digitigrade
character of the footprints. This discovery represents the first documented
occurrence of dinosaur footprints inside the Early Cretaceous Sao Khua
Formation from Thailand.

======

Victoria Arbour, David C Evans , D. Jade Simon, Thomas Cullen & Dennis R.
Braman (2019)
Cretaceous flora and fauna of the Sustut Group near the Sustut River,
northern British Columbia, Canada.
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (advance online publication)
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1139_cjes-2D2019-2D0031&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=ySMHwhhY2uQkcrQd5MYpvKrGZCO3IgKMqXpTAERX40s&s=iAnEAE_lLEPhjxLaljHebelJ5hDBSSH0CcZyadw955A&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nrcresearchpress.com_doi_abs_10.1139_cjes-2D2019-2D0031-23.XaiJOJJKjX4&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=ySMHwhhY2uQkcrQd5MYpvKrGZCO3IgKMqXpTAERX40s&s=NwfIt1yVe5iPypPeJ5w4rheZSnuv_NroAFzpyEza1bs&e= 

A partial ornithischian dinosaur skeleton discovered near the Sustut River
in 1971 has, to date, represented the only vertebrate fossil remains
recovered from the Sustut Basin in northern British Columbia, Canada, but
the geological provenance and age of this specimen has remained unclear. We
provide new data on the age of this dinosaur specimen based on
reconnaissance palaeontological prospecting along the Sustut River, and
also report new vertebrate and plant fossils from this region. A skeletal
fragment of the turtle Basilemys sp. was discovered at a site closely
matching field notes describing the initial collection of the ornithischian
dinosaur, suggesting that the new turtle fossil derives from the same
locality as the dinosaur. Palynomorphs collected from this site include the
marker taxon Pseudoaquilapollenites bertillonites, found in the lower Hell
Creek Formation, and suggesting an age range of between 68.2 and 67.2 Ma
for the locality. To the west of this locality we discovered multiple new
fossil plant sites preserving wood and the leaves of Metasequoia and
several angiosperms, and one site preserved fronds resembling the tree fern
Coniopteris sp., suggesting a Cenomanian or older age for sites the area.
The complex translational history of the Intermontane Terrane means that
the newly discovered turtle may not represent a northern range extension
for Basilemys, but it does represent one of the westernmost occurrences of
this genus. The discovery of new vertebrate fossil remains in a region with
relatively little accessible outcrop at present indicates for the potential
for future discoveries in the higher elevation outcrops of the Sustut Basin
in this mountainous region of British Columbia.


===

Dennis V. Kent, Paul E. Olsen, Christopher Lepre, Cornelia Rasmussen,
Roland Mundil, George E. Gehrels, Dominique Giesler, Randall B. Irmis, John
W. Geissman  & William G. Parker (2019)
Magnetochronology of the entire Chinle Formation (Norian age) in a
scientific drill core from Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona, USA)
and implications for regional and global correlations in the Late Triassic.
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (advanced online publication)
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1029_2019GC008474&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=ySMHwhhY2uQkcrQd5MYpvKrGZCO3IgKMqXpTAERX40s&s=yoCc5hGGRkRcPe79NxKSe_AmMtVPFusTkb5CGq6ejd8&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com_doi_10.1029_2019GC008474&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=ySMHwhhY2uQkcrQd5MYpvKrGZCO3IgKMqXpTAERX40s&s=sKHuvgfNpIk0ARZ9Z4tYjdQCKfqrDfuB6__vGd5kI8U&e= 



Building on an earlier study that confirmed the stability of the 405‐kyr
eccentricity climate cycle and the timing of the Newark‐Hartford
astrochronostratigraphic polarity time scale (N‐H APTS) back to 215 Ma, we
extend the magnetochronology of the Late Triassic Chinle Formation to its
basal unconformity in scientific drill core PFNP‐1A from Petrified Forest
National Park (Arizona, USA). The 335‐m‐thick Chinle section is imprinted
with paleomagnetic polarity zones PF1r to PF10n, which we correlate to
chrons E17r to E9n (~209 to 224 Ma) of the N‐H APTS. A sediment
accumulation rate of ~34 m/Myr can be extended down to ~270 meters, close
to the base of the Sonsela Member and the base of magnetozone PF5n, which
we correlate to chron E14n that onsets at 216.16 Ma. Magnetozones PF5r to
PF10n in the underlying 65‐m‐thick section of the mudstone‐dominated Blue
Mesa and Mesa Redondo members plausibly correlate to chrons E13r to E9n,
indicating a sediment accumulation rate of only ~10 m/Myr. Published high
precision U‐Pb detrital zircon dates from the lower Chinle tend to be
several million years older than the magnetochronological age model. The
source of this discrepancy is unclear but may be due to sporadic
introduction of juvenile zircons that get recycled. The new
magnetochronological constraint on the base of the Sonsela Member brings
the apparent timing of the included Adamanian‐Revueltian land vertebrate
faunal zone boundary and the Zone II to Zone III palynofloral transition
closer to the temporal range of the ~215 Ma Manicouagan impact structure in
Canada.

Key Points

Chinle Formation as recovered extends from ~224 Ma to 209 Ma (chrons E9n to
E17r).
Base of Sonsela Member at ~216 Ma (chron E14n) places older age limit on
Adamanian‐Revueltian faunal transition.
Published high precision U‐Pb detrital zircon ages from the lower Sonsela
and Blue Mesa Members tend to be anomalously old by comparison.

====

Raman Umamaheswaran, G.V.R. Prasad, Arka Rudra, and Suryendu Dutta (2019)
Biomarker signatures in Triassic coprolites.
Palaios 34(10): 458-467
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.2110_palo.2019.023&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=ySMHwhhY2uQkcrQd5MYpvKrGZCO3IgKMqXpTAERX40s&s=B6RzKlLQMXD2fNgW3ffNAf8KTzFWDng35yZ61utiglw&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__bioone.org_journals_Palaios_volume-2D34_issue-2D10_palo.2019.023_BIOMARKER-2DSIGNATURES-2DIN-2DTRIASSIC-2DCOPROLITES_10.2110_palo.2019.023.short&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=ySMHwhhY2uQkcrQd5MYpvKrGZCO3IgKMqXpTAERX40s&s=zQH0k2PBaASJ4bCKW_r0Vadixc_bqX47EZM3vRJiKvQ&e= 


Coprolites are traditionally analyzed from a morphological perspective. Few
studies exist from an organic geochemical perspective, and most of these
consider recent specimens. This study represents an analysis of coprolites
from deep time, using both traditional one-dimensional and also
two-dimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We find organic
molecules preserved in coprolites from the Triassic, and that both dietary
habits of the defecators and paleoenvironment can be interpreted using
comparative distributions of biomarker abundances in the coprolites.
Steranes having 27 carbon atoms are known to be derived from animal
steroids whereas those with 29 carbon atoms are known to be derived from
plant steroids. The predominance of steranes with 27 carbon atoms over
those with 29 carbon atoms in a non-marine environment was interpreted as
evidence for the defecator(s) being predominantly carnivorous or possibly
omnivorous. A series of tricyclic terpanes ranging from C19 to C28 was
examined to determine the environment. The present study suggests that one
or possibly all of the defecators may have been small-medium carnivores
that lived in an aquatic or near aquatic setting.

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