Dinosaur Trackways of the Jurassic-Cretaceous Boundary in China

Theropod and possible ornithopod track assemblages from the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary Houcheng Formation, Shangyi, northern Hebei, China

Authors:

Xing et al.

Abstract:

Dinosaur track assemblages from the Houcheng Formation in the small continental Shangyi Basin of northern Hebei Province, China bridge a gap in the record of vertebrates from this unit and enrich our knowledge of ichnofaunas from the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary. Their stratigraphic position between the Middle Jurassic Yan-Liao Biota and the Lower Cretaceous Jehol Biota gives them a special importance. New discoveries allow a re-assessment of theropod and possible ornithopod tracks that are present with several trackways. Seventy-three footprints were examined and documented. Despite their smaller size, the tridactyl mesaxonic theropod tracks show morphological similarities with the ichnogenus Therangospodus known from the Upper Jurassic deposits of North America, Europe, and Central Asia. The possible ornithopod tracks lack an associated manus imprint, suggesting a bipedal trackmaker. These possible ornithopod tracks from the Houcheng Formation provide evidence for the presence of small basal ornithopods or basal Cerapoda in the Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous in this region. The depositional environment was the margin of an extensive shallow lake with fluctuating water levels under seasonally dry climate.