First Report of Dinosaur Footprints from Madagascar: Two Tracksites from the Middle Jurassic Bemaraha Formation

Abstract

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

Large Theropod Dinosaur Footprint Associations in Western Gondwana: Behavioural and Palaeogeographic Implications

“…Therefore, the Querulpa Chico, Chacarilla and Calama tracksites are to− gether with the Berriasian-Barremian tracksites from North− estern Brazil (e.g., Leonardi and Spezzamonte 1994;Leo− nardi and Santos 2004) the oldest sites in South America evi− dencing the presence of large theropods. This observation contrasts with findings from Africa, where large theropods were already present during the Middle and Late Jurassic (e.g., Lingham−Soliar et al 2003;Belvedere et al 2010, Wagensommer et al 2010.…”

New Information on the Madagascan Middle Jurassic Sauropod Lapparentosaurus madagascariensis

“…Silicified wood is sometimes present. Besairie [24] suggested a Bathonian age for Isalo IIIb (ICS stage Bathonian 168.3-166.1 Ma [26]) on the basis of its rich invertebrate fauna including the index echinoids: Nucleolites amplus and Acrosalenia colcanap [27][28][29][30][31]. The Bathonian age of the Dinosaur-bearing layers (Isalo III) is also consistent with the presence of a bivalve of the genus Corbula [32,33].…”

New dinosaur tracksites from the Middle Jurassic of Madagascar: ichnotaxonomical, behavioural and palaeoenvironmental implications

“…Although the majority of tracks represent theropods, other types of footprints also are present. Wagensommer et al . (2010) described the trackway of a large quadrupedal dinosaur from the Sahalaly River tracksite (BcI), about 50 km south of the Tsiandro area.…”

“…We recorded and named twelve tracksites in the Tsiandro area. In referring to the sites, we used acronyms built up as suggested by Wagensommer et al . (2010).…”

“…Additional information on the Jurassic dinosaur faunas from Madagascar comes from fossil footprints. The first Malagasy dinosaur tracks were recently reported from the Middle Jurassic carbonates of the Bemaraha Formation in the Morondava Basin of western Madagascar (Wagensommer et al . 2010).…”