Intra-trackway morphological variations due to substrate consistency: the El Frontal dinosaur tracksite (Lower Cretaceous, Spain)

PLoS One. 2014 Apr 3;9(4):e93708. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093708. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

An ichnological and sedimentological study of the El Frontal dinosaur tracksite (Early Cretaceous, Cameros basin, Soria, Spain) highlights the pronounced intra-trackway variation found in track morphologies of four theropod trackways. Photogrammetric 3D digital models revealed various and distinct intra-trackway morphotypes, which reflect changes in footprint parameters such as the pace length, the track length, depth, and height of displacement rims. Sedimentological analyses suggest that the original substrate was non-homogenous due to lateral changes in adjoining microfacies. Multidata analyses indicate that morphological differences in these deep and shallow tracks represent a part of a continuum of track morphologies and geometries produced by a gradient of substrate consistencies across the site. This implies that the large range of track morphologies at this site resulted from similar trackmakers crossing variable facies. The trackways at the El Frontal site present an exemplary case of how track morphology, and consequently potential ichnotaxa, can vary, even when produced by a single trackmaker.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Dinosaurs / anatomy & histology*
  • Fossils*
  • Paleontology
  • Spain

Grants and funding

This paper is a contribution to the projects CGL2011-30069-C02-01 and CGL2010-16447, subsidized by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain. LiDAR data adquisition was funded by the Institut Català de Paleontologia “Miquel Crusafont”. N. L. Razzolini acknowledges support from BES- 2012-051847 subsized by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad. B. Vila acknowledges support from Subprograma Juan de la Cierva (MICINN-JDC-2011). D. Castanera is the beneficiary of a grant from the Ministry of Education (AP2008-01340). P. L. Falkingham was supported by a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship within the 7th European Framework Programme.