Sauropod trackways from site el sobaquillo (Munilla, La Rioja, Spain) indicate amble walking

Abstract

Values of hindlimb height and glenoacetabular length are estimated in two ways: a) from an Aptian age sauropod trackway 13 meters long at a site (El Sobaquillo) in La Rioja Province (Spain), and b) from published skeletal reconstructions in Norman (1985), McIntosh (1990) and Farlow (1992). Results that best fit the presently available data are obtained using formulae suggested by Ishigaki (1988) and Lockley et al. (1986) for hindlimb height, and that employed by Far‐low et al. (1989) for glenoacetabular length. Our estimate of the glenoacetabular lengths of trackmakers from El Sobaquillo is consistent with a hypothesis that the sauropods were moving by amble walking. This interpretation is supported by data from other trackways found in La Rioja.

Key words:

• Amble walking
• footprints
• sauropod
• Spain

Notes

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