Carnivore Trackways from the Miocene Site of Salinas de Añana (Alava, Spain)

Abstract

A fossil tracksite of Lower Miocene age discovered near Salinas de Añana, Alava (Spain), has rendered an exceptionally well-preserved assemblage of vertebrate ichnites. The site shows a high proportion of carnivore tracks (3 out of 5 mammal ichnospecies) and a high number of individual trackways (15), some including over 50 consecutive footprints. The carnivore ichnites are classified as Felipeda lynxi Panin & Avram, 1962, Felipeda parvula ichnosp. nov. and Canipeda longigriffa Panin & Avram, 1962, and they are attributed to a felid, an undetermined small aeluroid, and a herpestid, respectively. The long trackways allow determination of gaits, which include lateral sequence walks and diagonal sequence trots, and of speed, which ranges from 0.4 to 1.4 m/s. Froude numbers range between 0.1 and 0.8, agreeing with gait interpretations and speed calculations. The felid trackways provide the first known evidence of group traveling in fossil cats. The herpestid footprints show modern-grade adaptations for terrestrial locomotion and digging.

Keywords:

• Mammalia
• ichnites
• trackways
• carnivores
• cats
• mongoose
• Miocene
• Spain

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Jesús Alonso and Carmelo Corral from the Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Alava for their support and help during the excavation works. Financial support on fieldwork was provided by Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Alava. We are grateful to Spencer Lucas and Joanna Wright for their useful comments on the manuscript. Lourdes Casanovas told two of the authors (G.L. and R.S.) about the chance finding of the site by Petra Laumen.