The Trackway of a Quadrupedal Ornithopod from the Jindong Formation (Cretaceous) of Korea

Abstract

We report the first occurrence of the trackway of a quadrupedal ornithopod from the Jindong Formation (Late Aptian) of Korea. Although trackways of ornithopods are abundant in the Cretaceous of Korea, especially in the Jindong Formation, trackways of a quadrupedal trackmaker have never been reported from Korea. Moreover, the manus shows an unusual morphology with three subcircular indentations arranged in an unusual, elongate arc unlike any seen in other ornithopod ichnospecies. The specimen is clearly different from all other known Korean ornithopod footprints and is herein named as Caririchnium kyoungsookimi. To date, Caririchnium is one of only two ichnogenus names applied with confidence to Lower Cretaceous ornithopod tracks from Asia.

Keywords:

• Ornithopod footprints
• Cretaceous
• Korea

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to thank Haang-Mook Kim and Suk-Wun Han for the discovery and excavation in field work. Tae-Hyung Kim prepared Figure 2. We also thank John Foster, Musuem of Western Colorado, and Hendrik Klein Neumarkt, Germany, for their helpful reviews. Also, we thank Spencer Lucas, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, for his role as guest editor of this volume.