Paleoecology and paleoenvironment of the Early Cretaceous theropod-dominated ichnoassemblage of the Los Corrales del Pelejón tracksite, Teruel Province, Spain

Castanera, Diego; Aurell, Marc; Cuenca‐Bescós, Gloria; Gasca, José Manuel; Bádenas, Beatriz

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2023.111761

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Among the former, this behavior in sauropods is the most documented 30 – 32 , 48 , whereas ornithopod dinosaurs are mainly the only group of ornithischians in which this kind of behavior has been described (see 30 and references therein). Usually, sets of parallel trackways that show other features, such as similar preservation, speed values, close intertrackway spaces or pace rhythms, have been used to infer gregarious behavior among dinosaurs 30 – 32 , 48 , 58 , although the paleoenvironment also has a considerable influence in certain cases on trackway orientation 58 – 61 . To our knowledge, among stegosaurs, the only possible gregarious behavior reported in the literature comes from AG-3 and CT-1, which are some of the few tracksites where Deltapodus trackways have been described worldwide.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other parameters are difficult to measure due to the high level of trampling of the surface. The lack of a bimodal orientation pattern in the trackways (including the theropod trackway) might indicate an absence of paleogeographical influence (see 61 and references therein). García-Ortiz and Pérez-Lorente 30 noted that footprint accumulations may also represent evidence of gregarious behavior; thus, although we cannot guarantee a gregarious behavior sensu stricto in the CT-1 tracksite, it might well be an example of such behavior sensu lato that although stegosaurs were not (or at least not all of them) strictly walking together at the same time, they inhabited these tidal flat environments 18 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The complexity of tracking stegosaurs and their gregarious behavior

Castanera,

Mampel,

Cobos

2024

Sci Rep

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Stegosaur tracks were unknown until the identification of Deltapodus more than 20 years ago. Currently, the Iberian Peninsula, especially Teruel Province, is one of the areas globally with the most occurrences of these tracks. However, their identification, based on the global record, is problematic due to their similarities with sauropod tracks. A review of the largest number of analyzed Deltapodus tracks globally, including the holotype of D. ibericus and a description of new occurrences, has been carried out. Our research shows substantial morphological variations, but all the studied tracks can be considered D. ibericus based on the manus morphology and the morphometric data. These variations are related to substrate differences and/or different dynamic foot postures (possibly ontogenetically related) during locomotion, as evidenced by changes within the same trackway. We provide detailed comparisons via 3D modeling with sauropod tracks, and our data show that they generally have proportionally longer manus and wider pes because of the differences in the metapodial bones. The scarcity of stegosaur trackways in the fossil record has prevented the identification of gregarious behavior in this group of herbivorous dinosaurs. Two of the studied tracksites show evidence of this behavior, being the only examples among stegosaurs described thus far in the fossil record.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The complexity of tracking stegosaurs and their gregarious behavior

Castanera,

Mampel,

Cobos

2024

Sci Rep

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¿Qué nos dicen sus huellas? Muchas preguntas y algunas respuestas sobre la vida de los dinosaurios no avianos

Díaz-Martínez,

Citton,

Castanera

2023

J Iber Geol

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Dinosaur tracks are considerably common in the fossil record and were described from many areas in the world. They provide a live picture of dinosaur behaviour and offer valuable data about different aspects of the trackmaker paleobiology. The dinosaur ichnological record allows gain information about autopod anatomy, functional adaptations, stance and gaits with which dinosaurs moved. This information, which is often difficult to obtain from the body-fossil record alone, allows making inferences not only concerning the single individuals who produced the footprints, but also within an evolutionary context. Footprints provide also evidences about the abilities that dinosaurs had to swim, run or live with certain pathologies. They also allowed inferring how they move in herds or even made courtship rituals. The study of tracks also enables the reconstruction of paleocommunities including predator–prey interaction. On the other hand, footprints are useful paleoenvironmental indicators, informing about moisture content, bathymetry, paleocurrents, subaqueous substrates, zonations in lacustrine margins, etc. In addition, it has been proposed that dinosaur track assemblages can be related to certain facies (ichnofacies), in order to refine paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Dinosaur tracks can sometimes be in the shadow with respect to the skeletal record. However, the data obtained from the ichnological record complements and completes the knowledge we have about the life of dinosaurs, even showing previously unknown aspects. This work is an overview of the information we can obtain from the study of non-avian dinosaur footprints, trying to answer some questions about their life.

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