Second occurrence of the dinosauriform ichnogenus Atreipus in the western United States,Upper Triassic Chinle Group of Eastern Utah

Abstract

A newly discovered track in the Chinle Group north of Moab, Utah, is attributable to the ichnogenus Atreipus, an ichnotaxon that is relatively common in eastern North America (Newark Supergroup) but very rare in the Late Triassic of the western part of the continent. This is only the second report of the genus from the Chinle Group. Atreipus has been attributed to a silesaurid dinosauriform, and dinosauriform taxa are relatively abundant by skeletal material in the Late Triassic of western North America, but track evidence in the same units is dominated by ichnotaxa attributed to dinosaurs. The rarity of Atreipus is currently an anomaly in the region.