AMPHIBIANS FROM THE MIDDLE JURASSIC BALABANSAI SVITA IN THE FERGANA DEPRESSION, KYRGYZSTAN (CENTRAL ASIA)

Abstract: Larval and metamorphosed Ferganobatrachus riabinini (Temnospondyli, Brachyopoidea), metamorphosed Kokartus honorarius (Caudata, Karauridae), an indeterminated karaurid (Karauridae indet.) and, presumably, anurans (?Anura indet.) are represented by isolated cranial and postcranial skeletal elements in the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian–Callovian) Balabansai Svita of the Fergana Depression, Kyrgyzstan. The Balabansai vertebrate assemblage is one of the few faunas in which non‐lissamphibian temnospondyls, stem caudates and anurans occur together. The presence of a supraglenoid foramen and a complex strap‐like glenoid on the scapulocoracoid in Kokartus supports its basal phylogenetic position within the Caudata.     

Large sauropod and theropod tracks from the Middle Jurassic Chuanjie Formation of Lufeng County,Yunnan Province and palaeobiogeography of the Middle Jurassic sauropod tracks from southwestern China

Tracks of large theropods and a single sauropod footprint are reported from red beds at Beikeshan locality in the Middle Jurassic Chuanjie Formation, of Lufeng County, near the large World Dinosaur Valley Park complex. The Chuanjie theropod tracks are assigned to the ichnogenus Eubrontes and the large sauropod track is given the provisional label Brontopodus. All occur as isolated tracks, i.e., trackways are not preserved. Saurischian dominated ichnofaunas are relatively common in the Jurassic of China. The producers of the Chuanjie tracks may have been similar to the basal tetanuran theropod Shidaisaurus and to mamenchisaurid sauropods, which were widely distributed throughout China, during the Jurassic, and are known from skeletal remains found in the same unit. Other potential sauropod trackmakers include titanosauriforms or as-yet-unknown basal eusauropods. The ichno- and skeletal records from the Jurassic of the Lufeng Basin are largely consistent, and both document the presence of middle-large sized theropods and sauropods.     

Osteology and relationships of a new theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Patagonia

Abstract:  A new taxon of theropod dinosaur is described as Condorraptor currumili gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle Jurassic (Callovian) Cañadón Asfalto Formation of Chubut Province, Argentinean Patagonia. The taxon is represented by a single fragmentary postcranial skeleton. Although incompletely known, Condorraptor is the second most complete theropod from the Middle Jurassic of Gondwana. The new taxon is characterized by the absence of a posterior incision between the fibular condyle and the medial side of the proximal articular end of the tibia, the pleurocoels in the anterior cervicals being situated posteroventral to the parapophyses, and the presence of a pronounced 'step' between the distal articular facet and shaft of Mt IV. Pneumatic features of the vertebral column show strong variation between the left and right side. Condorraptor gen. nov. can be referred to the Tetanurae and is a representative of a global radiation of basal tetanurans in the Early to Mid Jurassic.     

Hints of the Early Jehol Biota: Important Dinosaur Footprint Assemblages from the Jurassic-Cretaceous Boundary Tuchengzi Formation in Beijing,China

New reports of dinosaur tracksites in the Tuchengzi Formation in the newly established Yanqing Global Geopark, Beijing, China, support previous inferences that the track assemblages from this formation are saurischian-dominated. More specifically, the assemblages appear theropod-dominated, with the majority of well-preserved tracks conforming to the Grallator type (sensus lato), thus representing relatively small trackmakers. Such ichnofaunas supplement the skeletal record from this unit that lacks theropods thus far, proving a larger diversity of dinosaur faunas in that region. Sauropods are represented by medium to large sized and narrow and wide-gauge groups, respectively. The latter correspond with earlier discoveries of titanosauriform skeletons in the same unit. Previous records of ornithischian tracks cannot be positively confirmed. Purported occurrences are re-evaluated here, the trackways and imprints, except of a single possible specimen, re-assigned to theropods. Palecologically the Tuchengzi ichnofauna is characteristic of semi-arid fluvio-lacustrine inland basins with Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous deposits in northern China that all show assemblages with abundant theropod and sauropod tracks and minor components of ornithopod, pterosaur and bird tracks.     

A sauropod rib with an embedded theropod tooth: direct evidence for feeding behaviour in the Jehol group,China

Xing, L, Bell, P.R., Currie, P.J., Shibata, M., Tseng, K. & Dong, Z. 2012: A sauropod rib with an embedded theropod tooth: direct evidence for feeding behaviour in the Jehol group, China. Lethaia, Vol. 45, pp. 500–506. A fragmentary rib from the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) Yixian Formation in northeastern China preserves rare, direct evidence of feeding behaviour by an unidentified theropod. The rib, which comes from the holotype of Dongbetitan, preserves an embedded, broken theropod tooth. Comparison of the tooth with all known theropods from the Yixian Formation suggests that it belongs to a new taxon of medium‐sized theropod. Given the large size difference between the sauropod and the theropod and the absence of reactive bone growth around the tooth, the bite likely occurred post‐mortem during scavenging. Recognition of a new, medium‐sized theropod increases the known diversity of taxa from the Yixian Formation and helps fill a gap in the theropod palaeoecology of that formation, which previously consisted of only small (<2 m) forms. □China, Cretaceous, feeding behaviour, theropod, titanosauriformes, sauropod.     

Thyreophoran vertebrae from the Callovian (Middle Jurassic) of the Vaches Noires cliffs (Normandy,France), with remarks on the dinosaur assemblage from the Vaches Noires

Two associated incomplete thyreophoran dorsal vertebrae from the Callovian Marnes de Dives Formation of the Vaches Noires cliffs, on the Normandy coast, are referred to an indeterminate stegosaur that appears to be different from Lexovisaurus, previously reported from the Callovian of western France. These vertebrae are the first evidence of thyreophorans from the Vaches Noires and complement the dinosaur assemblage from this locality, which hitherto consisted of several theropod taxa and an indeterminate sauropod. The dinosaur record from the Vaches Noires is heavily dominated by theropods and this imbalance is difficult to explain. A possible explanation may be that the dinosaur sample from the Vaches Noires is too small to be statistically significant and representative of the original faunal assemblage from which it is derived.     

First definitive stegosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Kyrgyzstan

Four articulated posterior dorsal vertebrae from the Middle Jurassic (Callovian) Balabansai Svita at Sarykamyshsai locality in the northern Fergana Valley represent the first record of Stegosauria in Kyrgyzstan. The vertebrae cannot be attributed to any known stegosaurian genus. This is one of the oldest records for the Stegosauria.      

重庆晚侏罗世两处兽脚类足迹组合与四川盆地侏罗纪地层(英文)

重庆市已报道了4处侏罗纪的恐龙足迹点,包括下侏罗统珍珠冲组的大足化石点,该地点发现了中国迄今最古老的蜥脚类行迹;另外两处化石点(南岸和金鸡)的层位曾被视为中或上侏罗统,这里首次将其确认为上侏罗统上沙溪庙组;第4处化石点(成渝), 本文全部作者目前都未曾观察,这里不做描述。南岸化石点是南岸重庆足迹(Chongqingpus nananensis)模式标本的所在地,位于重庆市中心,曾发现过大量兽脚类足迹,如今已消逝在城市化进程中。幸运的是,这批标本被保存于重庆自然博物馆,本文作者曾前后两次对其进行研究,并得出文中的结论。南岸重庆足迹为中型足迹(平均长约29 cm), 最可能被卡岩塔足迹(Kayentapus)所囊括,这批标本中有一些保存着边界不清的拇趾迹。该化石点的其他足迹被归于似异样龙足迹(cf. Anomoepus)。其他较小的、来自重庆市周边中侏罗统中部的足迹此前已被归于跷脚龙足迹(Grallator)。金鸡化石点保存了一条孤立的兽脚类行迹,因其粗壮的特征而被暂时归于似窄足龙足迹(cf. Therangospodus)。金鸡点的行迹也保存了非连续出现的拇趾迹。虽然重庆市和四川盆地及其周边更广泛地区之侏罗纪地层发现的兽脚类足迹日渐增多,但要明确其确切地质年龄及有效的足迹分类依然需要进一步工作。这是因为侏罗纪的恐龙足迹尽管丰富,但显示出连续变化的形态学特征,而保存状况的变化更使其难以在时间与空间上做出定义与鉴别。     

The oldest evidence of a sauropod dinosaur in the western united states and other important vertebrate trackways from grand staircase‐escalante national monument,Utah

Recent discoveries of abundant fossil footprints from the new Grand Staircase‐Escalante National Monument of southern Utah, have important implications for the spatial and temporal distribution of Mesozoic vertebrates in Triassic and Jurassic time. Since the monument's creation in 1996, fossil footprints have been reported from at least seven formations in the Mesozoic (Triassic‐Cretaceous) within the monument. By far the most significant of these discoveries are sauropod and theropod tracks from the upper part of the Middle Jurassic Entrada Sandstone and a large Apatopus trackway from the Late Triassic Chinle Formation. Tracks in the Entrada Sandstone are found at the same stratigraphic level as those in the Moab megatracksite, and so considerably extend this large ichnological complex. A wide‐gauge sauropod trackway (cf. Brontopodus) from this unit represents the first reported from the Entrada Sandstone, and so is the oldest known from the western United States. This trackway also reveals a tail trace, which is the first reliable record of a sauropod tail trace.     

Dinosaurs of Switzerland

Until 1960, the record of dinosaurs was rather poor in Switzerland. Between 1960 and 1980, several new localities with plateosaurid remains as well as prosauropod and theropod tracks were found in Late Triassic sabkha and floodplain environments. The discovery of large surfaces with sauropod tracks in the Late Jurassic of the Jura Mountains in 1987 triggered a stream of new data. More than 20 new localities with tracks from both sauropod and theropod dinosaurs in different stratigraphic levels have been found since then. The latest discoveries include trackways of iguanodontids from the Early Cretaceous of the central Swiss Alps and a large Late Jurassic surface with trackways of small sauropods in the northernmost part of the Jura Mountains. The best skeletal record comes from the Late Triassic, with scattered data from the Late Jurassic. The track and trackway record appears to be best in the Late Jurassic. To cite this article: C.A. Meyer, B. Thüring, C. R. Palevol 2 (2003) 103–117.     

Los Cayos Dinosaur Tracksite: An Overview on the Lower Cretaceous Ichno-Diversity of the Cameros Basin (Cornago,La Rioja Province,Spain)

The Los Cayos dinosaur tracksite is located at the eastern sector of the Cameros Basin (Cornago Township, La Rioja province), NE Spain. The sediments consist of interbedded terrigenous siliciclastics and carbonates belonging to the Enciso Group (Early Cretaceous, Aptian in age). The sedimentological and faunal evidence suggests that these sediments were deposited in a low gradient lacustrine environment. Los Cayos constitutes a relatively wide area with at least 6 localities that have yielded dinosaur tracks. More than 2,000 dinosaur tracks have been discovered to date. Medium to large theropod dinosaurs constitute about 95% of the ichnofauna. Ornithopod dinosaur tracks have been reported from only one of the outcrops (Los Cayos D). Los Cayos S has yielded theropod and sauropod tracks. One sauropod trackway shows a narrow-gauge locomotion pattern and a manus print morphology suggesting that the trackmaker was a titanosaurid, or at least a titanosauriform sauropod. Some pterosaur manus impressions, avian-like footprints of small size and possible turtle tracks complete the assemblage of one of the most impressive and best-preserved dinosaur tracksites of the European Lower Cretaceous.     

A theropod–sauropod track assemblage from the ?Middle–Upper Jurassic Shedian Formation at Shuangbai,Yunnan Province,China, reflecting different sizes of trackmakers: Review and new observations

A dinosaur tracksite at Hemenkou (Shuangbai County, Yunnan Province) in the ?Middle–Upper Jurassic Shedian Formation that consists mainly of gray-purple feldspathic quartz sandstones was previously reported incorrectly as being in the Lower Cretaceous Puchanghe Formation. The previous assignment is also inconsistent with two regional geological maps. Although mostly yielding poorly preserved tracks, the site nevertheless indicates a diversity of theropod and sauropod trackmakers partly consistent with the Late Jurassic body fossils from the region. Purported ornithopod are re-evaluated here as those of theropods. The theropod tracks and trackways show distinct similarities to those of the Grallator–Eubrontes plexus and can be subdivided into three morphotypes that may reflect different pes anatomy and/or substrate conditions. Two sizes of tracks (small, large) indicate the presence of different size classes or species in this area in the Late Jurassic. Similarly, the sauropod trackways document three differently sized trackmakers (small–medium–large) showing a typical wide-gauge (Brontopodus) pattern. The track record is the first evidence of theropods in the ?Middle–Late Jurassic of central Yunnan, whereas the sauropod tracks suggest a relation to the coeval basal eusauropods known from this region by skeletal remains.     

New dinosaur tracksites from the Middle Jurassic of Madagascar: ichnotaxonomical,behavioural and palaeoenvironmental implications

Abstract: New dinosaur tracksites are described from the Bajocian–Bathonian Bemaraha Formation of western Madagascar. Two track‐bearing surfaces can be followed over a distance of at least 4 km, suggesting the existence of a hitherto unrecognized megatracksite. The track assemblage is theropod dominated, but sauropod tracks also occur at one site. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the abundant theropod track material suggests that most, if not all, theropod footprints are attributable to a single trackmaker and are referred to Kayentapus isp. Although this ichnogenus, originally described from the Lower Jurassic of North America, has never been recorded from Gondwana nor from the Middle Jurassic, track morphology strongly suggests this attribution. Palaeogeographical, sedimentological and ichnological data suggest that the dinosaur tracks formed in an intertidal to supratidal setting where the coastline influenced the preferred walking direction of the animals.     

Brachiopods from the Jurassic (Callovian) of Hamakhtesh Hagadol (Kurnub Anticline), Southern Israel

The Callovian Zohar and Matmor formations in the Negev, southern Israel, consisting of marls, shales and limestones, have yielded 13 brachiopod species (2 rhynchonellids, 11 terebratulids), referred to 12 genera, of which one genus and five species are new: Apatecosia inornata, Bihenithyris mediocostata, Digonella boylani sp. nov., Dissoria bretti sp. nov., Burmirhynchia jirbaensis, Kutchithyris landeri sp. nov., Pleuraloma triangulatum, Polyplectella debriani gen. et sp. nov., Ptyctothyris daghaniensis, Somalirhynchia africana, Striithyris saudiarabica, S. telemi sp. nov., and Zeilleria sp. The brachiopods described herein from Hamakhtesh Hagadol (Kurnub Anticline) comprise a fauna located at the northernmost part of the Indo-African Faunal Realm within the Jurassic Ethiopian Province.     

四川盆地中侏罗世一肉食龙

七里峡宣汉龙(Xuanhanosaurus qilixiaensis gen. et sp. nov.)具有较发达的前肢和残存的第Ⅳ掌骨,是巨齿龙科中较原始的一种特征。据此推断其生存的时代为中侏罗世。     

Saurischian (theropod–sauropod) track assemblages from the Jiaguan Formation in the Sichuan Basin,Southwest China: ichnology and indications to differential track preservation

Saurischian (theropod and sauropod) tracks and trackways from the Jiaguan Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of the Sichuan Basin are exposed as natural casts with associated undertrack or transmitted print casts. The theropod tracks (cf. Eubrontes and Grallator) were left by differently sized trackmakers. This is a further example for the occurrence of characteristic Lower Jurassic ichnotaxa in the Cretaceous that obviously had a more extended stratigraphic range in East Asia. The sauropod trackway is tentatively assigned to cf. Brontopodus based on imprint morphology and (nearly wide) gauge. The tracks, however, allow a detailed study of their formation and the taphonomic processes under different substrate conditions. Differential preservation and erosion of primary sedimentary structures, and post-burial deformation structures, give insight into a complex preservational history during a low energy phase interrupting the deposition of a sequence of thick high energy sandstones. This is the sixth report of dinosaur tracks from the Jiaguan Formation and the fifteenth report from the Lower Cretaceous of Sichuan Province. Thus, the tetrapod ichnological record in this region is rapidly becoming of major importance for our knowledge of dinosaur faunas in south-western China.     

An Ornithopod-Dominated Tracksite from the Lower Cretaceous Jiaguan Formation (Barremian–Albian) of Qijiang,South-Central China: New Discoveries,Ichnotaxonomy, Preservation and Palaeoecology

The historically-famous Lotus Fortress site, a deep 1.5–3.0-meter-high, 200-meter-long horizonal notch high up in near-vertical sandstone cliffs comprising the Cretaceous Jiaguan Formation, has been known since the 13th Century as an impregnable defensive position. The site is also extraordinary for having multiple tetrapod track-bearing levels, of which the lower two form the floor of part of the notch, and yield very well preserved asseamblages of ornithopod, bird (avian theropod) and pterosaur tracks. Trackway counts indicate that ornithopods dominate (69%) accounting for at least 165 trackmakers, followed by bird (18%), sauropod (10%), and pterosaur (3%). Previous studies designated Lotus Fortress as the type locality of Caririchnium lotus and Wupus agilis both of which are recognized here as valid ichnotaxa. On the basis of multiple parallel trackways both are interpreted as representing the trackways of gregarious species. C. lotus is redescribed here in detail and interpreted to indicate two age cohorts representing subadults that were sometimes bipedal and larger quadrupedal adults. Two other previously described dinosaurian ichnospecies, are here reinterpreted as underprints and considered nomina dubia. Like a growing number of significant tetrapod tracksites in China the Lotus Fortress site reveals new information about the composition of tetrapod faunas from formations in which the skeletal record is sparse. In particular, the site shows the relatively high abundance of Caririchium in a region where saurischian ichnofaunas are often dominant. It is also the only site known to have yielded Wupus agilis. In combination with information from other tracksites from the Jiaguan formation and other Cretaceous formations in the region, the track record is proving increasingly impotant as a major source of information on the vertebrate faunas of the region. The Lotus Fortress site has been developed as a spectacular, geologically-, paleontologically- and a culturally-significant destination within Qijiang National Geological Park.     

Benthic foraminiferal assemblages of the Middle and Upper Jurassic sediments from the northeastern Alborz and western Koppeh Dagh,Iran: Systematic palaeontology and palaeoecology

This research is focused on a poorly studied Jurassic sequence in the eastern part of Alborz and Western Koppeh Dagh basins. The foraminifera are reported from Callovian (Middle Jurassic) to Tithonian (Upper Jurassic) sediments of the Farsian and Chaman Bid formations. The benthic foraminiferal associations belong to the families Ammodiscidae, Epistominidae, Hauerinidae, Hormosinidae, Ichthyolariidae, Lagenidae, Nodosariidae, Nubeculariidae, Ophthalmidiidae, Polymorphinidae, Rhabdamminidae, Saccamminidae, Spirillinidae, Spirocyclinidae, Textulariidae, Trocholinidae, and Vaginulinidae. In the studied area, the foraminifera are dominated by the families Nodosariidae, Vaginulinidae and Epistominidae. Palaeoecological analysis of the foraminiferal assemblages from the Farsian Formation indicates that these sediments were deposited on the inner to mid shelf environment, with normal salinity (euhaline), and relatively well oxygenated waters, with eutrophic conditions in the Goznawwi area and oligotrophic conditions in the Chaman Bid area. The foraminiferal assemblages in this study are the first record from Jurassic sediments of the eastern part of the Alborz and Koppeh Dagh basins in northern Iran.     

A New Basal Sauropod Dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Niger and the Early Evolution of Sauropoda

Background

The early evolution of sauropod dinosaurs is poorly understood because of a highly incomplete fossil record. New discoveries of Early and Middle Jurassic sauropods have a great potential to lead to a better understanding of early sauropod evolution and to reevaluate the patterns of sauropod diversification.

Principal Findings

A new sauropod from the Middle Jurassic of Niger, Spinophorosaurus nigerensis n. gen. et sp., is the most complete basal sauropod currently known. The taxon shares many anatomical characters with Middle Jurassic East Asian sauropods, while it is strongly dissimilar to Lower and Middle Jurassic South American and Indian forms. A possible explanation for this pattern is a separation of Laurasian and South Gondwanan Middle Jurassic sauropod faunas by geographic barriers. Integration of phylogenetic analyses and paleogeographic data reveals congruence between early sauropod evolution and hypotheses about Jurassic paleoclimate and phytogeography.

Conclusions

Spinophorosaurus demonstrates that many putatively derived characters of Middle Jurassic East Asian sauropods are plesiomorphic for eusauropods, while South Gondwanan eusauropods may represent a specialized line. The anatomy of Spinophorosaurus indicates that key innovations in Jurassic sauropod evolution might have taken place in North Africa, an area close to the equator with summer-wet climate at that time. Jurassic climatic zones and phytogeography possibly controlled early sauropod diversification.     

A New Pterosaur Tracksite from the Jurassic Summerville Formation,Near Ferron,Utah

Pterosaur tracks (cf. Pteraichnus) from the Summerville Formation of the Ferron area of central Utah add to the growing record of Pteraichnus tracksites in the Late Jurassic Summerville Formation and time-equivalent, or near time-equivalent, deposits. The site is typical in revealing high pterosaur track densities, but low ichnodiversity suggesting congregations or “flocks” of many individuals. Footprint length varies from 2.0 to 7.0 cms. The ratio of well-preserved pes:manus tracks is about 1:3.4. This reflects a bias in favor of preservation of manus tracks due to the greater weight-bearing role of the front limbs, as noted in other pterosaur track assemblages. The sample also reveals a number of well-preserved trackways including one suggestive of pes-only progression that might be associated with take off or landing, and another that shows pronounced lengthening of stride indicating acceleration.

One well-preserved medium-sized theropod trackway (Therangospodus) and other larger theropod track casts (cf. Megalosauripus) are associated with what otherwise appears to be a nearly monospecific pterosaur track assemblage. However, traces of a fifth pes digit suggest some tracks are of rhamphorynchoid rather than pterodactyloid origin, as usually inferred for Pteraichnus. The tracks occur at several horizons in a thin stratigraphic interval of ripple marked sandstones and siltstones. Overall the assemblage is similar to others found in the same time interval in the Western Interior from central and eastern Utah through central and southern Wyoming, Colorado, northeastern Arizona, and western Oklahoma. This vast “Pteraichnus ichnofacies,” with associated saurischian tracks, remains the only ichnological evidence of pre-Cretaceous pterosaurs in North America and sheds important light on the vertebrate ecology of the Summerville Formation and contiguous deposits.