Dinosaur footprints from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia

Authors

  • Shinobu Ishigaki Hayashibara Museum of Natural Sciences, 1-2-3, Shimoishii, Kita-ku, Okayama 700-0907, Japan
  • Mahito Watabe Center for Paleobiological Research, Hayashibara Biochemical Laboratories Inc., 1-2-3, Shimoishii, Kita-ku, Okayama 700-0907, Japan
  • Khishigjav Tsogtbaatar Mongolian Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Natural Sciences, Ulaanbaatar 210351, Mongolia
  • Mototaka Saneyoshi Center for Paleobiological Research, Hayashibara Biochemical Laboratories Inc., 1-2-3, Shimoishii, Kita-ku, Okayama 700-0907, Japan

Keywords:

Mongolia, Gobi Desert, Upper Cretaceous, dinosaur, footprint

Abstract

We report new data on 18 dinosaur footprint localities discovered in the Upper Cretaceous of the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, where we have recognized more than 20 000 footprints of dinosaurs. There are at least four types of dinosaur footprints, attributed to theropod, ornithopod, ankylosaurid and sauropod trackmakers. We have also recognized abundant footprints of unidentified trackmakers from each locality. Coexistence of footprints and many skeletal remains in the same and/or nearby beds is a remarkable feature of these Mongolian sites. Analyses of dinosaur footprints and associated body fossil remains for each locality reveal that even in the same beds, the ichnofauna differ from the fauna reconstructed on the basis of body fossils of dinosaurs. The results demonstrate that dinosaur faunal assemblages reconstructed from body fossil or footprint evidence solely should be considered very carefully.

Downloads

Published

2010-03-27

Issue

Vol. 53 No. 4 (2009)

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as this can lead to productive exchanges and earlier and more frequent citation of the published work (See The Effect of Open Access).