Dinosaur Tracks from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation of Northern Central Yunnan, China

Lida Xing; Martin Lockley; Anthony  Romilio; Tao  Wang; Liu Chang

doi:10.37819/biosis.003.01.0169

Dinosaur Tracks from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation of Northern Central Yunnan, China

Lida Xing ,

Martin Lockley ,

Anthony Romilio ,

Tao Wang ,

Liu Chang ,

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Abstract

An increasing number of theropod-dominated tracksites have been reported from the Jurassic and Cretaceous of China. These include a significant number from the Lower Jurassic of the Lufeng Basin, famous for its Lufengosaurus fauna and known for a typical Lower Jurassic globally-distributed tetrapod footprint biochron. Here we report another localized theropod track occurrence regular of various scattered tracksites from the Lufeng Formation. The tracks are medium-sized tridactyl tracks from the basal member of the Zhangjia'ao Member, Lufeng Formation which shows an unusually wide divarication between the traces of digits III and IV, which suggest several possible interpretations.

Keywords: Lufengosaurus fauna theropod tracks tetrapod footprint biochron

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References

Abourachid, A. (1991). Comparative gait analysis of two strains of turkey, Meleagris gallopavo. British Poultry Science, 32 (2), 271-277.
Barrett, P.M. (1999). A sauropod dinosaur from the Lower Lufeng Formation (Lower Jurassic) of Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 19 (4), 785-787.
Belvedere, M, Farlow, J.O. (2016). A numerical scale for quantifying the quality of preservation of vertebrate tracks (p. 92-98). In: Falkingham PL, Marty D, Richter A, editors. Dinosaur tracks—the next steps. Bloomington and Idianapolis: Indiana University Press.
Bien, M.N. (1941). 'Red Beds' of Yunnan. Bulletin of the Geological Society of China, 21, 159-198.
Currie, P.J., Xing, L.D., Wu, X. & Dong, Z. (2019). Anatomy and relationships of Sinosaurus triassicus (Theropoda, Coelophysoidea) from the Lufeng Formation (Lower Jurassic) of Yunnan, China (p. 17). In Murray, A.M., LeBlanc, A. & Holmes, R.B. (Eds.).7th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology. Vertebrate Anatomy Morphology Palaeontology. 7. ISSN 2292-1389.
Dong, Z.M. (1992). Dinosaurian faunas of China (pp. 188). Beijing: China Ocean Press.
Fang, X.S. & Li, P.X. (2008). Jurassic Red Bed in the Central Yunnan of China (pp. 111). Beijing: Geological Publishing House.
Fang, X.S., Pang, Q.J., Lu, L.W., Zhang, Z.X., Pan, S.G., Wang, Y.M., Li, X.K. & Cheng, Z.W. (2000). Lower, Middle, and Upper Jurassic subdivision in the Lufeng region, Yunnan Province, in Proceedings of the Third National Stratigraphical Congress of China, Editorial Committee of Proceedings of the Third National Stratigraphical Congress of China (p. 208-214.). Beijing: Geological Publishing House.
Farlow, J.O. (2018). Noah's ravens: interpreting the makers of tridactyl dinosaur Footprints (pp.643). Bloomington: Indiana University Press
Goetz, J.E., Derrick, T.R., Pedersen, D.R., Robinson, D.A., Conzemius, M.G., Baer, T.E. & Brown, T.D. (2008). Hip joint contact force in the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) during normal level walking. Journal of Biomechanics, 41 (4), 770-778.
Hitchcock, E. (1858). Ichnology of New England: A report on the sandstone of the Connecticut Valley, especially its fossil footmarks. Commonwealth of Massachusetts (pp. 220). Boston (MA): William White, Printer to the State.
Hu, S.J. (1993). A short report on the occurrence of Dilophosaurus from Jinning County, Yunnan Province. Vertebrata PalAsiatica, 31, 65-69.
Huang, T.D., Huang, C.L., Lin, C.T., Knell, M.J. & Yang, W.J. (2009). Exploring dinosaur strata of Yunnan via rare earth element analyses. Western Pacific Earth Sciences, 9, 15-36.
Lallensack, J.N., Buchwitz, M. & Romilio, A. (2020). Photogrammetry in ichnology: 3D model generation, visualization, and data extraction. Earth ArXiv. Published online, https://doi.org/10.31223/X5J30D.
Li, K. (1998). The Sauropoda fossils and their stratigraphical distribution in China. Journal of Chengdu Institute of Technology, 25 (1), 54-60.
Lockley, M.G., Li, J.J., Li, R.H., Matsukawa, M., Harris, J.D. & Xing, L.D. (2013). A review of the tetrapod track record in China, with special reference to type ichnospecies: implications for ichnotaxonomy and paleobiology. Acta Geologica Sinica (English edition), 87 (1), 1-20.
Lockley, M.G., Gierlinski, G.D. & Lucas, S.G. (2011). Kayentapus revisited: notes on the type material and the importance of this theropod footprint ichnogenus. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, 53, 330-336.
Lucas, S.G. (2007). Tetrapod footprint biostratigraphy and biochronology. Ichnos, 14(1-2), 5-38.
Lull, R.S. (1953). Triassic life of the Connecticut valley (pp.1-336). Hartford (State of Connecticut): Sate Geological and Natural History Survey.
Luo, Z. X. & Wu, X.C. (1995). Correlation of vertebrate assemblage of the lower Lufeng Formation, Yunnan, China. In: Sun, A.L. & Wang, Y. (eds.). Sixth Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biotas (p. 83-88). Beijing: China Ocean Press.
Mao, L., Xing, L.D., Zhang, J.P., Wang, T. & Wang, D.H. (2020). Revisiting the world famous Lufeng Formation dinosaur fauna: New approaches to old problems. Historical Biology, 32 (8), 1062-1070.
Milàn, J. (2006). Variations in the morphology of emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) tracks reflecting differences in walking pattern and substrate consistency: ichnotaxonomic implications. Palaeontology, 49(2), 405-420.
Olsen, P.E. (1980) A comparison of the vertebrate assemblages from the Newark and Hartford Basins (Early Mesozoic, Newark Supergroup) of Eastern North America. Aspects of Vertebrate History, Essays in honor of Edwin Harris Colbert, 35-53.
Olsen, P.E., Smith, J.B. & McDonald, N.G. (1998). Type material of the type species of theclassic theropod footprint genera Eubrontes, Anchisauripus, and Grallator (Early Jurassic, Hartford and Deerfield basins, Connecticut and Massachusetts, U.S.A.). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 18(3), 586-601.
Romilio, A. (2020). An Instructional Guide to Visualising Dinosaur Tracks (pp.36). Amazon. Columbia, South Carolina, USA.
Sheng, S. F., Chang, L. Q., Cai, S. Y. & Xiao, R. W. (1962). The problem of the age and correlation of the red beds and the coal series of Yunnan and Szechuan. Acta Geological Sinica, 42, 31-56.
Tan, X.H. (1997). Stratigraphy and depositional environments of the Lufeng Basin. Yunnan Geological Science and Technology Information, 1, 21-22.
Wang, G.F., You, H.L., Pan, S.G., & Wang, T. (2017). A new crested theropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of Yunnan Province, China. Vertebrata PalAsiatica, 55, 177-186.
Welles, S.P. (1971). Dinosaur footprints from the Kayenta Formation of Northern Arizona. Plateau, 44(1), 27-38.
Weems, R.E. (1992). A re-evaluation of the taxonomy of Newark Supergroup saurischian dinosaur tracks, using extensive statistical data from a recently exposed tracksite near Culpeper, Virginia. In Sweet PC (Eds). Proceedings of the 26th Forum on the Geology of Industrial Minerals, Division of Mineral Resources, Virginia (pp. 113-127).
Xing, L.D., Lockley, M.G., Persons, W.S., Klein, H., Romilio, A., Wang, D. &Wang, M. (2021). Stegosaur track assemblage from Xinjiang, China, featuring the smallest known stegosaur record. PALAIOS, 36 (2), 68-76.
Xing, L.D. (2012). Sinosaurus from Southwestern China (pp. 286). Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta.
Xing, L.D., Harris, J.D., Toru, S., Masato, F. & Dong, Z.M. (2009). Discovery of Dinosaur Footprints from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation of Yunnan Province, China and New Observations on Changpeipus. Geological Bulletin of China, 28 (1),16-29.
Xing, L.D., Klein, H., Lockley, M.G., Wetzel, A., Li, Z.D., Li, J.J., Gierliński, G.D., Zhang, J.P., Matsukawa, M., Divay, J.D. & Zhou, L. (2014). Changpeipus (theropod) tracks from the Middle Jurassic of the Turpan Basin, Xinjiang, Northwest China: review, new discoveries, ichnotaxonomy, preservation and paleoecology. Vertebrata PalasiAtica, 52 (2), 233-259
Xing, L.D., Klein, H., Qin Z.H., Persons, W.S.IV. & Xu, X. (2018). Lower Cretaceous theropod tracks with the new ichnogenus and combination Lockleypus luanpingensis from the Dabeigou Formation of the Luanping Basin, Hebei Province, China. Palaeoworld, 27, 482-489.
Xing, L.D., Lockley, M.G., Zhang, J.P., You, H.L., Klein, H., Persons, W.S.IV., Dai, H. & Dong, Z.M. (2016a). First Early Jurassic Ornithischian and theropod footprint assemblage and a New Ichnotaxon Shenmuichnus wangi ichnosp. nov. from Yunnan Province, Southwestern China. Historical Biology, 28 (6), 721-733.
Xing, L.D., Lockley, M.G., Klein, H., Zhang, J.P. & Persons W.S.IV. (2016b). A new ornithischian–dominated and theropod footprint assemblage from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation of China. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, 74, 331-338.
Xing, L.D., Lockley, M.G., Klein, H., Falkingham, P.L., Kim, J.Y., McCrea, R.T., Zhang, J.P., Persons, W.S.IV., Wang, T. & Wang, Z.Z. (2016c). First Early Jurassic small ornithischian tracks from Yunnan Province, southwestern China. PALAIOS ,31 (11), 516-524.
Yang, X.L., Yang, D.H. (1987). Dinosaur footprints of Sichuan basin (pp.30). Chengdu (China): Sichuan Science and Technology Publications.
You, H.L., Azuma, Y., Wang, T., Wang Y.M. & Dong, Z.M. (2014). The first well-preserved coelophysoid theropod dinosaur from Asia. Zootaxa, 3873 (3), 233-249
Young, C.C. (1940). Preliminary notes on the Lufeng vertebrate fossils. Bulletin of the Geological Society of China, 20 (3-4), 235-239.
Young, C.C. (1948). On two new saurischians from Lufeng, Yunnan, China. Bulletin of the Geological Society of China, 28, 75-90.
Young, C.C. (1966). On a new locality of the Lufengosaurus of Yunnan. Vertebrata PalAsiatica, 10(1), 64-67.
Young, C.C. (1979). Footprints from Luanping, Hebei. Vertebrata PalAsiatica, 17 (2), 116-118.
Zhen, S.N., Li, J. & Rao, C. (1986). Dinosaur footprints of Jinning, Yunnan. Memoirs of the Beijing Natural History Museum, 33(5), 1-19.
Zhao, X.J. (1985). The reptilian fauna of the Jurassic in China (p.286-289, 347). In Wang, Cheng & Wang (Eds.). The Jurassic System of China. Beijing: Geological Publishing House.

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Xing, L., Lockley, M., Romilio, A. ., Wang, T. ., & Chang, L. (2022). Dinosaur Tracks from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation of Northern Central Yunnan, China. Biosis: Biological Systems, 3(1), e004. https://doi.org/10.37819/biosis.003.01.0169

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Martin Lockley

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Anthony Romilio

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Tao Wang

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.37819/biosis.003.01.0169

Published: 2022-04-01

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[1] Abourachid, A. (1991). Comparative gait analysis of two strains of turkey, Meleagris gallopavo. British Poultry Science, 32 (2), 271-277.

[2] Barrett, P.M. (1999). A sauropod dinosaur from the Lower Lufeng Formation (Lower Jurassic) of Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 19 (4), 785-787.

[3] Belvedere, M, Farlow, J.O. (2016). A numerical scale for quantifying the quality of preservation of vertebrate tracks (p. 92-98). In: Falkingham PL, Marty D, Richter A, editors. Dinosaur tracks—the next steps. Bloomington and Idianapolis: Indiana University Press.

[4] Bien, M.N. (1941). 'Red Beds' of Yunnan. Bulletin of the Geological Society of China, 21, 159-198.

[5] Currie, P.J., Xing, L.D., Wu, X. & Dong, Z. (2019). Anatomy and relationships of Sinosaurus triassicus (Theropoda, Coelophysoidea) from the Lufeng Formation (Lower Jurassic) of Yunnan, China (p. 17). In Murray, A.M., LeBlanc, A. & Holmes, R.B. (Eds.).7th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology. Vertebrate Anatomy Morphology Palaeontology. 7. ISSN 2292-1389.

[6] Dong, Z.M. (1992). Dinosaurian faunas of China (pp. 188). Beijing: China Ocean Press.

[7] Fang, X.S. & Li, P.X. (2008). Jurassic Red Bed in the Central Yunnan of China (pp. 111). Beijing: Geological Publishing House.

[8] Fang, X.S., Pang, Q.J., Lu, L.W., Zhang, Z.X., Pan, S.G., Wang, Y.M., Li, X.K. & Cheng, Z.W. (2000). Lower, Middle, and Upper Jurassic subdivision in the Lufeng region, Yunnan Province, in Proceedings of the Third National Stratigraphical Congress of China, Editorial Committee of Proceedings of the Third National Stratigraphical Congress of China (p. 208-214.). Beijing: Geological Publishing House.

[9] Farlow, J.O. (2018). Noah's ravens: interpreting the makers of tridactyl dinosaur Footprints (pp.643). Bloomington: Indiana University Press

[10] Goetz, J.E., Derrick, T.R., Pedersen, D.R., Robinson, D.A., Conzemius, M.G., Baer, T.E. & Brown, T.D. (2008). Hip joint contact force in the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) during normal level walking. Journal of Biomechanics, 41 (4), 770-778.

[11] Hitchcock, E. (1858). Ichnology of New England: A report on the sandstone of the Connecticut Valley, especially its fossil footmarks. Commonwealth of Massachusetts (pp. 220). Boston (MA): William White, Printer to the State.

[12] Hu, S.J. (1993). A short report on the occurrence of Dilophosaurus from Jinning County, Yunnan Province. Vertebrata PalAsiatica, 31, 65-69.

[13] Huang, T.D., Huang, C.L., Lin, C.T., Knell, M.J. & Yang, W.J. (2009). Exploring dinosaur strata of Yunnan via rare earth element analyses. Western Pacific Earth Sciences, 9, 15-36.

[14] Lallensack, J.N., Buchwitz, M. & Romilio, A. (2020). Photogrammetry in ichnology: 3D model generation, visualization, and data extraction. Earth ArXiv. Published online, https://doi.org/10.31223/X5J30D.

[15] Li, K. (1998). The Sauropoda fossils and their stratigraphical distribution in China. Journal of Chengdu Institute of Technology, 25 (1), 54-60.

[16] Lockley, M.G., Li, J.J., Li, R.H., Matsukawa, M., Harris, J.D. & Xing, L.D. (2013). A review of the tetrapod track record in China, with special reference to type ichnospecies: implications for ichnotaxonomy and paleobiology. Acta Geologica Sinica (English edition), 87 (1), 1-20.

[17] Lockley, M.G., Gierlinski, G.D. & Lucas, S.G. (2011). Kayentapus revisited: notes on the type material and the importance of this theropod footprint ichnogenus. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, 53, 330-336.

[18] Lucas, S.G. (2007). Tetrapod footprint biostratigraphy and biochronology. Ichnos, 14(1-2), 5-38.

[19] Lull, R.S. (1953). Triassic life of the Connecticut valley (pp.1-336). Hartford (State of Connecticut): Sate Geological and Natural History Survey.

[20] Luo, Z. X. & Wu, X.C. (1995). Correlation of vertebrate assemblage of the lower Lufeng Formation, Yunnan, China. In: Sun, A.L. & Wang, Y. (eds.). Sixth Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biotas (p. 83-88). Beijing: China Ocean Press.

[21] Mao, L., Xing, L.D., Zhang, J.P., Wang, T. & Wang, D.H. (2020). Revisiting the world famous Lufeng Formation dinosaur fauna: New approaches to old problems. Historical Biology, 32 (8), 1062-1070.

[22] Milàn, J. (2006). Variations in the morphology of emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) tracks reflecting differences in walking pattern and substrate consistency: ichnotaxonomic implications. Palaeontology, 49(2), 405-420.

[23] Olsen, P.E. (1980) A comparison of the vertebrate assemblages from the Newark and Hartford Basins (Early Mesozoic, Newark Supergroup) of Eastern North America. Aspects of Vertebrate History, Essays in honor of Edwin Harris Colbert, 35-53.

[24] Olsen, P.E., Smith, J.B. & McDonald, N.G. (1998). Type material of the type species of theclassic theropod footprint genera Eubrontes, Anchisauripus, and Grallator (Early Jurassic, Hartford and Deerfield basins, Connecticut and Massachusetts, U.S.A.). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 18(3), 586-601.

[25] Romilio, A. (2020). An Instructional Guide to Visualising Dinosaur Tracks (pp.36). Amazon. Columbia, South Carolina, USA.

[26] Sheng, S. F., Chang, L. Q., Cai, S. Y. & Xiao, R. W. (1962). The problem of the age and correlation of the red beds and the coal series of Yunnan and Szechuan. Acta Geological Sinica, 42, 31-56.

[27] Tan, X.H. (1997). Stratigraphy and depositional environments of the Lufeng Basin. Yunnan Geological Science and Technology Information, 1, 21-22.

[28] Wang, G.F., You, H.L., Pan, S.G., & Wang, T. (2017). A new crested theropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of Yunnan Province, China. Vertebrata PalAsiatica, 55, 177-186.

[29] Welles, S.P. (1971). Dinosaur footprints from the Kayenta Formation of Northern Arizona. Plateau, 44(1), 27-38.

[30] Weems, R.E. (1992). A re-evaluation of the taxonomy of Newark Supergroup saurischian dinosaur tracks, using extensive statistical data from a recently exposed tracksite near Culpeper, Virginia. In Sweet PC (Eds). Proceedings of the 26th Forum on the Geology of Industrial Minerals, Division of Mineral Resources, Virginia (pp. 113-127).

[31] Xing, L.D., Lockley, M.G., Persons, W.S., Klein, H., Romilio, A., Wang, D. &Wang, M. (2021). Stegosaur track assemblage from Xinjiang, China, featuring the smallest known stegosaur record. PALAIOS, 36 (2), 68-76.

[32] Xing, L.D. (2012). Sinosaurus from Southwestern China (pp. 286). Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta.

[33] Xing, L.D., Harris, J.D., Toru, S., Masato, F. & Dong, Z.M. (2009). Discovery of Dinosaur Footprints from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation of Yunnan Province, China and New Observations on Changpeipus. Geological Bulletin of China, 28 (1),16-29.

[34] Xing, L.D., Klein, H., Lockley, M.G., Wetzel, A., Li, Z.D., Li, J.J., Gierliński, G.D., Zhang, J.P., Matsukawa, M., Divay, J.D. & Zhou, L. (2014). Changpeipus (theropod) tracks from the Middle Jurassic of the Turpan Basin, Xinjiang, Northwest China: review, new discoveries, ichnotaxonomy, preservation and paleoecology. Vertebrata PalasiAtica, 52 (2), 233-259

[35] Xing, L.D., Klein, H., Qin Z.H., Persons, W.S.IV. & Xu, X. (2018). Lower Cretaceous theropod tracks with the new ichnogenus and combination Lockleypus luanpingensis from the Dabeigou Formation of the Luanping Basin, Hebei Province, China. Palaeoworld, 27, 482-489.

[36] Xing, L.D., Lockley, M.G., Zhang, J.P., You, H.L., Klein, H., Persons, W.S.IV., Dai, H. & Dong, Z.M. (2016a). First Early Jurassic Ornithischian and theropod footprint assemblage and a New Ichnotaxon Shenmuichnus wangi ichnosp. nov. from Yunnan Province, Southwestern China. Historical Biology, 28 (6), 721-733.

[37] Xing, L.D., Lockley, M.G., Klein, H., Zhang, J.P. & Persons W.S.IV. (2016b). A new ornithischian–dominated and theropod footprint assemblage from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation of China. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, 74, 331-338.

[38] Xing, L.D., Lockley, M.G., Klein, H., Falkingham, P.L., Kim, J.Y., McCrea, R.T., Zhang, J.P., Persons, W.S.IV., Wang, T. & Wang, Z.Z. (2016c). First Early Jurassic small ornithischian tracks from Yunnan Province, southwestern China. PALAIOS ,31 (11), 516-524.

[39] Yang, X.L., Yang, D.H. (1987). Dinosaur footprints of Sichuan basin (pp.30). Chengdu (China): Sichuan Science and Technology Publications.

[40] You, H.L., Azuma, Y., Wang, T., Wang Y.M. & Dong, Z.M. (2014). The first well-preserved coelophysoid theropod dinosaur from Asia. Zootaxa, 3873 (3), 233-249

[41] Young, C.C. (1940). Preliminary notes on the Lufeng vertebrate fossils. Bulletin of the Geological Society of China, 20 (3-4), 235-239.

[42] Young, C.C. (1948). On two new saurischians from Lufeng, Yunnan, China. Bulletin of the Geological Society of China, 28, 75-90.

[43] Young, C.C. (1966). On a new locality of the Lufengosaurus of Yunnan. Vertebrata PalAsiatica, 10(1), 64-67.

[44] Young, C.C. (1979). Footprints from Luanping, Hebei. Vertebrata PalAsiatica, 17 (2), 116-118.

[45] Zhen, S.N., Li, J. & Rao, C. (1986). Dinosaur footprints of Jinning, Yunnan. Memoirs of the Beijing Natural History Museum, 33(5), 1-19.

[46] Zhao, X.J. (1985). The reptilian fauna of the Jurassic in China (p.286-289, 347). In Wang, Cheng & Wang (Eds.). The Jurassic System of China. Beijing: Geological Publishing House.