Large theropod trackway from the Lower Jurassic Zhenzhuchong Formation of Weiyuan County, Sichuan Province, China: Review, new observations and special preservation

Xing, Lida; Peng, Guangzhao; Ye, Yong; Lockley, Martin G.; McCrea, Richard T.; Currie, Philip J.; Zhang, Jianping; Burns, Michael E.

doi:10.1016/j.palwor.2014.10.010

Cited by 31 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Often, larger Triassic tracks are simply reported as Eubrontes without any associated measurements (e.g., Lucas et al, 2011), and the age of many larger Triassic to Jurassic footprints (e.g., in Lucas et al, 2006) is ambiguous or poorly constrained (Irmis, 2011;Milner et al, 2011). Large (>30-cm long) footprints appear to be much more common in Early Jurassic sediments (e.g., Olsen et al, 2002;Milner et al, 2011;Moreau et al, 2012;Xing et al, 2014;Barras and Twitchett, 2016) and the first large Eubrontes tracks (>30 cm (Griffin and Nesbitt, 2016;Griffin, 2018). Note that at least two individuals form this specimen.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Does the Maximum Body Size of Theropods Increase across the Triassic–Jurassic Boundary? Integrating Ontogeny, Phylogeny, and Body Size

Griffin

Nesbitt

2019

The Anatomical Record

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Mass extinctions change global ecosystems, and the end‐Triassic mass extinction was hypothesized to have precipitated the rise of dinosaur dominance, with dinosaurs filling resource zones of eliminated large‐bodied reptilian lineages. This replacement has been explicitly hypothesized for theropod dinosaurs, and the eastern North American theropod footprint record suggests an increase in maximum body size across the Triassic‐Jurassic boundary. Without taking ontogenetic stage in account, the maximum size of the rare large Triassic theropods worldwide supports this hypothesis, with the size of the largest individuals corresponding to the largest Triassic theropod tracks. However, both morphological data and histological examination suggest that known large‐bodied Triassic theropods are represented by immature individuals still growing rapidly at the time of death, indicating that the maximum body size of Triassic theropods was much larger than that a strict reading of the body fossil record would suggest. The size increase recorded in the sediments of eastern North America is not part of a global trend. Instead of a simple ecological replacement of non‐dinosaurian archosaurs by dinosaurs, the rise in theropod dinosaurian ecological dominance was an extended process across the end of the Late Triassic into the Jurassic. Anat Rec, 303:1158–1169, 2020. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Does the Maximum Body Size of Theropods Increase across the Triassic–Jurassic Boundary? Integrating Ontogeny, Phylogeny, and Body Size

Griffin

Nesbitt

2019

The Anatomical Record

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“…; Belvedere et al . ; Xing et al . 2011, 2013 a , b , 2014 a – i , 2015 a – d , 2016 a – c , 2017 ; Avanzini et al .…”

Section: Methodsunclassified

Shape variability in tridactyl dinosaur footprints: the significance of size and function

2019

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The functional anatomy of the hindlimb of bipedal dinosaurs has been intensively studied. Yet, surprisingly little work has been done concerning functional adaptation of digits for terrestrial locomotion. While complete and articulated pes skeletons are scarce, pes shape is abundantly recorded by fossil footprints. We elucidate the significance of footprint shape and size for locomotion using a large sample (n = 303) of tridactyl dinosaur footprints from a broad range of geographical localities and time slots. Size and shape variation are characterized separately for theropods and ornithischians, the two principal trackmaker taxa. At smaller sizes, theropod footprints are best discriminated from ornithischian footprints by their smaller interdigital angle and larger projection of digit III; at larger sizes digital widths are effective discriminants. Ornithischian footprints increase in size from the Early Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous, a trend not observed in theropod footprints. Size and function are argued to be important determinants of footprint shape, and an attempt made to infer function from shape. Digit III projection and length‐to‐width ratio of the footprints are negatively correlated with size in both groups; digit impression width is positively correlated with size only in ornithischians. Digit III projection appears to be positively correlated with cursorial ability. Increased interdigital angles are associated with a decrease in digital width, possibly an adaptation for stability. Weak digit III projection and increased digital width are interpreted as adaptations for graviportality. Footprints yield great potential for the understanding of the functional morphology of dinosaur feet.

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“…Lockley et al (2003) provided new an interpretative outline drawing, but without a digit I trace. Xing et al (2014) updated the interpretative outline drawing, however, CFZW46 was misspelled as "CFZW48" in the manuscript. Lockley et al (2013) and Li (2015) followed this classification but did not provide a new diagnosis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Medium-large sized theropod tracks preserving digit I are not common in China: known instances include Chongqingpus nananensis from the Upper Jurassic Shangshaximiao Formation of Chongqing (Xing et al, 2013), Eubrontes zigongensis from the Lower Jurassic Zhenzhuchong Formation of Weiyuan County, Sichuan Province (Xing et al, 2014), and Gigandipus chiappei from the Jiaguan Formation, Lower Cretaceous of Guizhou Province (Xing et al, 2018b). The biggest differences between these tracks and Gigandipus hei are the orientation and the morphology of digit I.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Review of two Middle Jurassic Theropod Tracksites Discovered in the 1980s from Sichuan Basin

Xing

Lockley

Peng³

et al. 2021

Biosis:Biol. Syst.

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Tracks from two sites in the Middle Jurassic Xintiangou Formation in the Wuma Village area, Wuhuang Township, Zizhong have been known and intermittently studied and excavated since the 1980s. The track-bearing surfaces were exposed by a combination of natural weathering and deliberate excavation by residents in a rural agricultural area. The surfaces were used as “threshing floors” for the processing of agricultural crops in an area subject to weathering under a humid sub-tropical climatic regime. Despite the negative effects of weathering on the quality of track preservation, the sites are historically significant in Chinese ichnology as the type areas for many controversially named theropod ichnotaxa. Subsequent researchers challenged the ichnotaxonomy as provincial and over-split, suggesting that many of the tracks, belong to well-known Lower Jurassic ichnogenera. The present study reviews these two sites, providing new information, and confirming that the tracks belong to the ichnogenera Grallator, Eubrontes and Kayentpus which are typical of the globally widespread Lower Jurassic tetrapod biochron. This suggests the Middle Jurassic ichnofauna in Sichuan is like Lower Jurassic ichnofaunas elsewhere. Previous efforts to transfer the ichnospecies to globally, better-known ichnogenera were important in reducing ichnogenus diversity, but did not reduce ichnosepcies diversity. Herein the ichnotaxa are reviewed and it is shown that the ichnospecies names have no utility for comparative study or in assessing assemblage diversity, or biochron composition. It is therefore proposed that the multiple ichnospecies names proposed based on tracks from these two localities can mostly be accommodated under the labels Grallator isp. indet., and Eubrontes isp. indet.

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Large theropod trackway from the Lower Jurassic Zhenzhuchong Formation of Weiyuan County, Sichuan Province, China: Review, new observations and special preservation

Cited by 31 publications

References 15 publications

Does the Maximum Body Size of Theropods Increase across the Triassic–Jurassic Boundary? Integrating Ontogeny, Phylogeny, and Body Size

Does the Maximum Body Size of Theropods Increase across the Triassic–Jurassic Boundary? Integrating Ontogeny, Phylogeny, and Body Size

Shape variability in tridactyl dinosaur footprints: the significance of size and function

A Review of two Middle Jurassic Theropod Tracksites Discovered in the 1980s from Sichuan Basin

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