Review and Detailed Description of Sauropod-Dominated Trackways from the Upper Cretaceous Jiangdihe Formation of Yunnan, China

ABSTRACT

Type specimens of the sauropod ichnotaxon Chuxiongpus changlingensis, which was later reassigned to Brontopodus changlingensis, as well as the theropod ichnotaxon Yunnanpus huangcaoensis, both from the Cretaceous Jiangdihe Formation of Yunnan Province, are redescribed in order to document their morphological features. Both, but particularly Y. huangcaoensis, which is considered now a nomen dubium, were originally based on poorly preserved material. Nevertheless, the specimens document a saurischian dominated biota that existed during the deposition of the Jiangdihe Formation from which no skeletal remains are known. B. changlingensis trackways were left by small sauropods that show consistent partial or complete overprint of the manus by the pes. This pattern makes it difficult to calculate manus length, and heteropody can be only estimated.

KEYWORDS:

• Sauropod
• theropod
• footprints
• Jiangdihe Formation
• Upper Cretaceous

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41790455, 41772008); the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2652017215).