Tracks - Footprints

Mateus, O., & Milan J. (2010).  A diverse Upper Jurassic dinosaur ichnofauna from central-west Portugal. Lethaia. 43, 245–257., Jan Abstractmateus__milan_2010_-_diverse_l_j_ichnofauna_from_lourinha_fm_portugal.pdfWebsite

A newly discovered dinosaur track-assemblage from the Upper Jurassic Lourinha˜ Formation (Lusitanian Basin, central-west Portugal), comprises medium- to large-sized sauropod tracks with well-preserved impressions of soft tissue anatomy, stegosaur tracks and tracks from medium- to large-sized theropods. The 400-m-thick Lourinha˜ Formation consists of mostly aluvial sediments, deposited during the early rifting of the Atlantic Ocean in the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian. The stratigraphic succession shows several shifts between flood-plain mud and fluvial sands that favour preservation and fossilization of tracks. The studied track-assemblage is found preserved as natural casts on the underside of a thin bivalve-rich carbonate bed near the Tithonian–Kimmeridgian boundary. The diversity of the tracks from the new track assemblage is compared with similar faunas from the Upper Jurassic of Asturias, Spain and the Middle Jurassic Yorkshire Coast of England. The Portuguese record of Upper Jurassic dinosaur body fossils show close similarity to the track fauna from the Lourinha˜ Formation.

Mateus, O., & Milan J. (2010).  First records of crocodyle and pterosaur tracks in the Upper Jurassic of Portugal.. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 51, 83-87., Jan Abstractmateus_and_milan_2010_portugal_first_records_of_crocodyle_and_pterosaur_tracks_in_the_upper_jurassic_of_portugal.pdfWebsite

The Upper Jurassic of Portugal has a rich vertebrate fauna well documented from both body and trace fossils. Although the occurrence of crocodyles and pterosaurs is well documented from body fossils, trace fossils from both groups were unknown until now. Here we describe an isolated crocodyle-like track from Praia da Peralta and pterosaur tracks from the Kimmeridgian of Pedreira do Avelino, Sesimbra (Azóia Fm.) and Porto das Barcas, Lourinhã (Lourinhã Fm.). An enigmatic track suggests the possible presence of a small, tail-dragging tetrapod.
Possible track-makers are suggested based on the known Late Jurassic vertebrate fauna of Portugal.