Characichnos

Characichnos Temporal range: Middle Jurassic (Aalenian), ~174–170  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Trace fossil classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Tetrapoda
Ichnogenus:	† Characichnos Whyte & Romano, 2001
Type ichnospecies
†Characichnos tridactylus Whyte & Romano, 2001

Characichnos (meaning "score trace") is an ichnogenus of possibly dinosaurian tetrapod footprint. It includes a single species, C. tridactylus, known from prints found in the Middle Jurassic Saltwick Formation of Yorkshire, United Kingdom. ^[1]

Description

Characichnos traces were created by a "punting" tetrapod, meaning that the animal was drifting or partially buoyant in a body of water, and touching or pushing off from the ground with the feet. ^[2]

Paleoecology

Outcrop of the Saltwick Formation

Other fossils from the Saltwick Formation consist of stegosaurian footprints and a caudal vertebra belonging to an eusauropod, nicknamed "Alan". ^{[3] [4]}

See also

• List of dinosaur ichnogenera

References

1. Whyte, M. A.; Romano, M. (2001). "A Dinosaur Ichnocoenosis from the Middle Jurassic of Yorkshire, UK". Ichnos. 8 (3–4): 223–234. doi:10.1080/10420940109380189. ISSN   1042-0940. S2CID   128891012.
2. Klein, Hendrik; G. Lucas, Spencer (16 April 2021). The Triassic Tetrapod Footprint Record. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. p. 58.
3. Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607.
4. Manning, Phillip L.; Egerton, Victoria M.; Romano, Mike (2015-06-01). "A New Sauropod Dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of the United Kingdom". PLOS ONE. 10 (6): e0128107. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1028107M. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0128107 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   4452486 . PMID   26030865.