An Artiodactyl Tracksite at Musandam Peninsula, Sultanate of Oman

Abstract

Here we report an artiodactyl trackway from Musandam Peninsula, Sultanate of Oman. Epireliefs of the tracks are preserved in poorly consolidated aeolian deposits now making up the ceiling of a coastal cave. As an interesting morphological feature, the trackway documents the trackmaker negotiating a slippery dune slope at an angle.

Keywords:

• Vertebrate tracks
• Artiodactyl
• Sultanate of Oman
• Neogene

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was funded by Arabia Art Production, Muscat. Layth Abdulamir, Chihab Bouhani and Dali Chawqi of AAP joined us on the mapping trip. Many thanks to Mohamed Al Shaie of Khasab and his crew who took us in his dhow from Dibba to the site. Stefano Castelli (Università di Padova) made the stitching and geometrical restoration of the photo. Anne Fortuin (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) kindly provided feedback on a few sedimentological details. The helpful comments by Greg McDonald and an anonymous reviewer are thankfully acknowledged.