Evidence Stegosaurs Could Swim

Could stegosaurs swim? Suggestive evidence from the Middle Jurassic tracksite of the Cleveland Basin, Yorkshire, UK

Authors:

Romano et al

Abstract:

Ichnological evidence from the Ravenscar Group (Middle Jurassic) of Yorkshire reveals a distinctive type of swimming track associated with walking tracks of the ichnogenus Deltapodus. The morphology of the prints suggests that both track types were made by the same type of animal. Since Deltapodus is interpreted as having been made by a stegosaur, the associated footprints suggest that stegosaurs could swim. This has significant implications for their palaeobiology and dispersal. The swimming prints are assigned to the ichnotaxon Characichnos isp.