Enhancing bonebed mapping with GIS technology using the Danek Bonebed (Upper Cretaceous Horseshoe Canyon Formation, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) as a case study

Abstract

The Danek Bonebed is a monodominant Edmontosaurus bonebed preserving predominantly disarticulated material from the Upper Campanian Horseshoe Canyon Formation within the city limits of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. To date, at least six dinosaur taxa have been identified at the site: Albertosaurus sarcophagus, Chasmosaurinae indet., Dromaeosauridae indet., Edmontosaurus regalis, Ornithomimidae indet., and Troodontidae indet. This bonebed has been used as a case study for creating a digital, searchable bonebed map using a geographic information system (GIS) platform. The original quarry maps produced on site are refined when digitized with new anatomical information gathered during preparation of collected specimens. Each specimen is labeled with the known specimen identification, quarry coordinates, and catalogue number. Creating a digital map of the bonebed allows easier interpretation of data and the ability to share maps to compare specific elements within the bonebed.

Mapping the past: GIS and intrasite spatial analyses of fossil deposits in paleontological sites and their applications in taxonomy, taphonomy and paleoecology

“…This phenomenon probably can be explained because the paleontological sites usually represent a broader time interval, and the sedimentological, taphonomical, and taxonomical data are more incomplete and less reliable for the quantitative analyses (Oheim, 2007). Yet, there are a few examples, where highprecision surveying devices were applied during the excavations, and the mapped data were evaluated by GIS and statistical software packages (e.g., ArcGIS, SAS, BDMP) in order to facilitate taphonomy studies (Alberdi et al, 2001;Bertog et al, 2014;Bramble et al, 2014;Jennings and Hasiotis, 2006;Lacruz et al, 2003), or fossil site predictions (Oheim, 2007). These paleontological examples do not include detailed descriptions about the implementation of statistical methods, but suggest that the use of GIS allows paleontologists to complete more accurate quantitative analyses of spatial relationships pertinent to taphonomic interpretation.…”