New ichnites from the Middle Triassic of the Iberian Ranges (Spain): paleoenvironmental and paleogeographical implications

Abstract

The Iberian Basin or its present-day expression, the Iberian Ranges, was refilled with red bed sediments of alluvial origin during the late Olenekian–Anisian period represented by the Cañizar (Olenekian–Anisian) and Eslida (Anisian) Formations, both commonly known as Buntsandstein facies. In the late part of the Anisian, the Tethys Sea reached the eastern side of the Iberian microplate, represented by the shallow marine facies of the Landete and Cañete Formations, also called Muschelkalk facies. The ichnites studied in this paper belong to the Anisian continental-marine transition in the SE Iberian Ranges.

The Cañizar Formation shows the oldest Triassic footprints found in the Iberian Peninsula, consisting in swimming, uncomplete lacertoid three digit Rhynchosauroides traces with possibly resting (cubichnia) and furrowing (pascichnia) Cruziana/Rusophycus due to large triopsids. Specimens from Lacertoïd and Crocodiloïd groups have been collected in the Eslida Formation. Rhynchosauroides sp. is the most representative ichnospecies of the first group, while in the Crocodiloïd group, the presence of Chirotherium barthii Kaup 1835 and Isochirotherium cf coureli (Demathieu 1970) are distinctive. In the Landete Formation specimens are found from Crocodiloïd and Dinosauroïd groups. Brachychirotherium gallicum Willruth 1917, Brachychirotherium sp. and Chirotherium sp. are characteristic of the first one, and ‘Coelurosaurichnus’ perriauxi and cf Paratrisauropus latus as the most representative of the second group.

Some of the specimens described here present ancestors in the Early Triassic and have been described in the Triassic of North America, Italy and France. Possible paleogeographical connections with faunas of SE France can be inferred.

Based on different sedimentary structures and plant remains, the footprints are related to fluvial systems within huge flood plains, playa and shallow marine environments, with alternating dry and wet periods. The vertical ichnites distribution during the Anisian shows that the fauna modification was weak at a high clade level. In the Triassic of the Iberian microplate, there are no findings of traces prior to the Anisian, and the footprint content for the Middle Triassic is less diversified than in other neighbouring regions. By comparison with other western Pangea areas, there was a later appearance of the forms after the end-Permian mass extinction event in the studied area.

Keywords:

• Rhynchosauroides
• Brachychirotherium
• Synaptichnium
• Paratrisauropus
• ‘Coelurosaurichnus’
• Middle Triassic

Acknowledgements

This paper is a contribution to the project CGL2008-00093 of the Spanish Ministry and to projects UCM-BSCH-GR58/08: Analisis de Cuencas (910429) and Paleoclimas (910198) of the Complutense University-Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid. We thank Nombre Belvedere and an anonymous referee for improving this manuscript with their comments. We also thank Dirección General de Patrimonio Cultural del Gobierno de Aragón (number 219/2008) for the permission for doing the research in the Teruel province.