The first record of Lower Cretaceous theropod tracks in Turpan-Hami Basin, Xinjiang, northwestern China

ABSTRACT

A detailed morphological study has been conducted for the first time on theropod tracks found in the Lower Cretaceous Tugulu Group in the Turpan-Hami Basin, Xinjiang. Based on the small size, the low length/width ratio, and the low anterior triangle length/width ratio, these theropod tracks are classified into cf. Eubrontes. These findings provide direct evidence for the presence of theropod dinosaurs within the Hami pterosaur fauna. Furthermore, by considering the length of the footprints, it is estimated that the trackmakers had a hip height of approximately 65 cm and a body length of about 171 cm, indicating that these tracks were made by small theropods. Additionally, when taking into account the invertebrate traces, the sedimentary structure, and the lithostratigraphic sequence of the section, these footprints were likely left along the shoreline of a shallow lake.

KEYWORDS:

• Theropod tracks
• Lower Cretaceous
• Hami pterosaur fauna
• Turpan-Hami Basin
• Xinjiang

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Long Xiang, Yan Li, Hongjiao Zhou for the fieldwork and collection of the specimens. We thank He Chen, Xinjun Zhang, Xufeng Zhu, Kaiyong Fang for their valuable comments. The authors are grateful to the reviewers of Matin G. Lockley and Jens N. Lallensack for their constructive comments on the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

The work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [42288201, 42072028]; the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS [2019075]; Hami local government funding; the Scientific Research Foundation of Shenyang Normal University, China [Grant No. BS202121].