Two new dinosaur tracksites from the Lower Cretaceous Jiaguan Formation of Sichuan Basin, China: specific preservation and ichnotaxonomy

Abstract

Two new dinosaur tracksites are reported from the Lower Cretaceous Jiaguan Formation in the Sichuan Basin, Qijiang District of Chongqing. These are the Gaoqing-Yongsheng and the Huibu tracksites, which represent the 13th and 14th reports from this formation. The Gaoqing-Yongsheng tracksite reveals the trackway of a large biped (ornithopod) in association with isolated sauropod tracks and large indeterminate undertracks with radial cracks. These features are preserved as natural casts with pebble infillings in a coarse, cross bedded and very thick bedded sandstone sequence. The Huibu tracksite reveals isolated theropod tracks and ornithopod tracks, the latter having a quadripartite, Caririchnium-like morphology, preserved in a thin bedded sandstone sequence with intercalated mudstone.

Keywords:

• Dinosaur tracks
• Theropod
• Sauropod
• Ornithopod
• Jiaguan Formation
• Lower Cretaceous

Abbreviations:

• GY: Gaoqing-Yongsheng site
• Qijiang District
• Chongqing Municipality
• China
• HB: Huibu site
• Mabian Yi Autonomous County
• Leshan City
• Sichuan Province
• China

Acknowledgements

The authors thank to the Qijiang National Geological Park, which provided logistical support. Detailed revisions by Matteo Belvedere, and by an anonymous reviewer greatly improved the final version and we are appreciative of their efforts.