Jurassic dinosaur tracks and trackways of the Cleveland Basin, Yorkshire: preservation, diversity and distribution

Abstract

SUMMARY Dinosaur tracks are abundant in the Middle Jurassic rocks of Yorkshire and indeed characterize the non-marine sequences developed within the Cleveland Basin. These tracks and associated trackways provide valuable evidence of the possible diversity of the dinosaur communities, their potential makers and behaviour and useful insights into the habitats and palaeoenvironment during the time of deposition. The uneven historical development of research into Yorkshire dinosaur tracks is reviewed and the Middle Jurassic lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy and chronostratigraphy of the region is outlined. Next, the probable palaeoenvironment of the Middle Jurassic Cleveland Basin, generally regarded as a coastal plain and fluvial complex, is briefly summarized. The terminology used to describe the dominant preservational types of dinosaur tracks, such as surface, transmitted and underprints, is clearly defined, with examples from the Yorkshire sequences. The Yorkshire tracks show considerable morphological diversity and at present 29 different morphotypes have been recognized, which possibly represent at least 15 ichnotaxa. These morphotypes include both quadrupedal and bipedal forms, as well as a distinctive suite of raking prints resulting from swimming activity. The distribution and abundance of the known dinosaur tracks within the Middle Jurassic rocks of Yorkshire is described. For the first time, a range chart of dinosaur tracks is presented that illustrates the persistence of some morphotypes throughout the Ravenscar Group (Middle Jurassic) of the Cleveland Basin. Track distribution and diversity data allow reconstruction of the Yorkshire dinosaur communities that were made up of between 7–10 common types, belonging to sauropods, stegosaurids, ornithopods and theropods. The area is a ‘megatracksite’ of global importance.

Dinosaur-plant interactions within a Middle Jurassic ecosystem—palynology of the Burniston Bay dinosaur footprint locality, Yorkshire, UK

“…Seventeen dinosaur print morphotypes were recognised from this part of the sequence by Romano and Whyte (2003); subsequently, an additional morphotype was described from the northern part of Burniston Bay (Whyte et al 2006). This latter example was from a bed considered to be the lateral equivalent of the 'Burniston footprint bed'.…”

“…Hammer is 37 cm long. c Imprint of a three toed-hind foot of a bipedal dinosaur; note the claw marks at the front of the digit impressions, the pads along the digits and the lack of a clearly defined heel, from the Scalby Formation, Scarborough (Romano and Whyte 2003). Print is 14 cm long.…”

“…The deposits also possess exquisite spore-pollen assemblages This article is a contribution to the special issue BJurassic biodiversity and terrestrial environmentsÊ lectronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-017-0309-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. (Couper 1958;Chaloner 1968;Chaloner and Muir 1968;Boulter and Windle 1993;Srivastava 2011;Wellman 2015, 2016a, b), and the abundant dinosaur footprints (Romano and Whyte 2003) make this an important region from which a relatively complete Middle Jurassic terrestrial ecosystem reconstruction can be made.…”

“…Brodrick 1907;Hargreaves 1913Hargreaves , 1914. Based on the diversity and abundance of footprints, the Middle Jurassic of Yorkshire has been described as a 'megatracksite of global importance' (Romano and Whyte 2003). Although footprints are present throughout the Middle Jurassic of Yorkshire (selected traces shown in Fig.…”

“…1 and 2). These sequences have yielded a wide range of track forms, including those of quadrupedal (sauropod, stegosaur) and bipedal (ornithopod, theropod) makers and possible swimming traces (Romano and Whyte 2003;Romano and Whyte 2015). The high diversity and abundance of footprints make the Burniston locality an ideal site to reconstruct the terrestrial ecosystem inhabited by the dinosaur fauna.…”