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Vertebrata Palasiatica ›› 2013, Vol. 51 ›› Issue (3): 184-198.

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Earliest records of theropod and mammal-like tetrapod footprints in the Upper Triassic of Sichuan Basin,China

XING Li-Da, Hendrik KLEIN, Martin G. LOCKLEY, CHEN Wei, YEYong, Masaki MATSUKAWA, ZHANG Jian-Ping   

  • Online:2013-09-15 Published:2013-09-15

四川盆地上三叠统最古老的兽脚类恐龙和似哺乳四足类动物足迹

邢立达,Hendrik Klein,Martin G. LOCKLEY,王仕莉,陈伟,叶勇,松川正树,张建平    

Abstract: Eubrontes- and Grallator-sized theropod footprints are known from two localities in the Upper Triassic Xujiahe Formation of the Sichuan Basin, southwest China. The larger footprints include a partial trackway with two successive pes imprints that were named asPengxianpus cifengensis. Compared with robust Eubrontes, they have slender digits, less well-defined pad impressions and display a wider digit divarication similar to the theropod ichnotaxon Kayentapus from the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic. Presently, a synonymy of the latter cannot be proved conclusively and the ichnotaxon is retained here.For both footprints, some small areas preserve skin texture with polygonal scales, the clearest preservation is in a small area on the metatarsal-phalangeal pad IV of the second imprint. The smaller theropod footprints are also part of an incomplete trackway. They show a wide digit divarication similar to Kayentapus and Pengxianpusbut they are here tentatively referred to theropod footprints indet. A peculiarity on the surface with Pengxianpus is the presence of small pes or manus imprints that can be assigned to mammal-like tetrapods somewhat similar to those known from Triassic-Jurassic strata of North America and southern Africa. This is the first report of mammal-like footprints in the Triassic of southeastern Asia.

摘要: 四川盆地须家河组地层已发现了两处兽脚类恐龙足迹化石点,其大小分别与实雷龙足迹(Eubrontes)和跷脚龙足迹(Grallator)相仿。其中与实雷龙足迹大小相近的足迹包括了两个连续的后足迹,并构成行迹的一部分,已被命名为磁峰彭县足迹(Pengxianpus cifengensis)。与粗壮的实雷龙足迹相比,彭县足迹有着较细长的脚趾、保存尚清晰的趾垫、较宽的趾间角,这些特征都与晚三叠世–早侏罗世的卡岩塔足迹(Kayentapus)相似。目前尚不能证明彭县足迹和卡岩塔足迹属于同物异名,彭县足迹仍然被保留。两个足迹的部分区域都保存有皮肤纹理和多边形的鳞片印痕,其中最清晰的是第二个彭县足迹第四趾的跖趾垫处。与跷脚龙足迹大小相近的、较小的兽脚类恐龙足迹也组成不甚完整的行迹。它们表现出的较宽趾间角与卡岩塔足迹和彭县足迹相似,这里暂将其归入兽脚类足迹属种未定。彭县足迹的另一特别之处在于,岩板表面还有着小的前/后足迹,可归入似哺乳四足类动物足迹,其形态类似于北美和南非三叠系–侏罗系地层产出的同类足迹。这是亚洲东南部似哺乳类足迹的首次报道。