Stegopodus
Stegopodus was a new ichnogenus erected in 1998 for the second set of stegosaur tracks from the Morrison Formation.[1] The tracks were found near Arches National Park, also in Utah.[1] Unlike the first, this trackway preserved traces of the forefeet. Fossil remains indicate that stegosaurs have five digits on the forefeet and three weight-bearing digits on the hind feet.[1] From this, paleontologists were able to successfully predict the appearance of stegosaur tracks in 1990, six years in advance of the first actual discovery of Morrison stegosaur tracks.[1] Since the erection of Stegopodus, more trackways have been found, however none have preserved traces of the front feet, and stegosaur traces remain rare.[1]
See also
Footnotes
References
- Foster, J. (2007). Jurassic West: The Dinosaurs of the Morrison Formation and Their World. Indiana University Press. 389pp.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, May 11, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.