New dinosaur tracksites are described from the Bajocian-Bathonian Bemaraha Formation of western Madagascar. Two track-bearing surfaces can be followed over a distance of at least 4 km, suggesting the existence of a hitherto unrecognized megatracksite. The track assemblage is theropod dominated, but sauropod tracks also occur at one site. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the abundant theropod track material suggests that most, if not all, theropod footprints are attributable to a single trackmaker and are referred to Kayentapus isp. Although this ichnogenus, originally described from the Lower Jurassic of North America, has never been recorded from Gondwana nor from the Middle Jurassic, track morphology strongly suggests this attribution. Palaeogeographical, sedimentological and ichnological data suggest that the dinosaur tracks formed in an intertidal to supratidal setting where the coastline influenced the preferred walking direction of the animals.
About 350 dinosaur footprints, including the longest dinosaur trackway currently on record in Africa, are preserved in the Lower Jurassic Etjo Formation at the Otjihaenamaparero 92 Farm in north-central Namibia. This historically significant locality was among the first dinosaur tracksites ever to be reported from the African continent and is today a National Monument and tourist destination. Nevertheless, its ichnofauna was never described in any detail. Herein we discuss its significance for southern African palaeontology. Although originally described in the 1920ies as new ichnotaxa and later compared to other ichnotaxa described from Lesotho, most tracks of the Namibian Etjo Formation are referable to the classic North American ichnogenera Eubrontes, Anchisauripus and Grallator. A single median-sized theropod trackway is cautiously assigned to Kayentapus, but shows characters that differ from North American and European Kayentapus, linking it to other "Kayentapus-like" tracks from Lesotho and Madagascar. A small-sized functionally tridactyl morphotype with posteriorly directed hallux, common at Otjihaenamaparero, appears to represent a genuinely African form that may also occur in Lesotho. This ichnofauna strengthens the assignment of an Early Jurassic age to the Etjo Formation and opens a window on the diversity of dinosaur communities in arid environments of Early Jurassic southern Gondwana.
Here we report the first record of tetrapod tracks from Madagascar. We document two localities yielding dinosaur footprints, both within the Middle Jurassic Bemaraha Formation (Morondava Basin) in western Madagascar. The Sahalaly River tracksite yielded a single trackway belonging to a quadrupedal dinosaur; probably a sauropod, but a closer determination is hindered by bad preservation. In contrast, the Tsiandro tracksite yielded numerous well-preserved theropod tracks that allow some inference about the behavior of the trackmakers
The first incontrovertible Otozoum moodii of Gondwana is described from the Etjo Formation (Waterberg Plateau, Namibia). Distinct Otozoum trackways and isolated footprints are reported from the Omuramba Omambonde tracksite, in the Otjozondjupa Region (North–central Namibia). Previously known only from North America, Europe and possibly Lesotho, the occurrence of Otozoum is a definitive time constraint for an Early Jurassic age of the Etjo Formation. The presence of Otozoum in the hyperarid facies and specifically in interdune setting of the Etjo Formation is in accordance with previous claims of environmental selectivity for this ichnomorph.
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