Minisauripus

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Minisauripus
Temporal range: BarremianAlbian
Trace fossil classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Ichnogenus: Minisauripus
Zhen et al., 1995
Type ichnospecies
Minisauripus chuanzhuensis
Zhen et al., 1995
Other ichnospecies
  • Minisauripus zhenshuonani Lockley et al., 2008

Minisauripus is an ichnogenus of theropod dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous of China and South Korea. The trackmaker of Minisauripus would have been among the smallest known non-avian dinosaurs. This ichnogenus contains two named ichnospecies from China, M. chuanzhuensis and M. zhenshuonani, with several indeterminate ichnospecies known from both China and South Korea.

Contents

Discovery

The type ichnospecies M. chuanzhuensis was first described in 1995 from the Early Cretaceous Jiaguan Formation of Sichuan, China. [1] The second ichnospecies M. zhensuonani was described in 2008 from the Tianjialou Formation (Barremian-Albian) of Shandong, China. [2] Trace fossils from the Haman Formation (Albian) of South Korea were referred to as M. cf. zhenshuonani or M. cf. chuanzhuensis. [2] Other trace fossils attributed to M. isp. were discovered from the Feitianshan Formation of China and the Jinju Formation (Albian) of South Korea, with the latter record being the oldest in South Korea. [3] [4]

Classification

About 95 tracks have been attributed to Minisauripus, and over 80% of them were less than 3 cm (1.2 in) long. The abundance of such small footprints might suggest that the trackmaker of Minisauripus was a small non-avian theropod, not a juvenile of a larger taxon. [4] The Minisauripus tracks show three distinct toes, unlike the tracks of similar-sized small dromaeosaurids such as Dromaeosauriformipes , which are didactyl, with the recurved claw on the second toe being held off the ground and thus not preserved in the trackway. [5]

See also

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References

  1. Zhen, S.; Li, J.; Chen, W.; Zhu, S. (1995). "Dinosaur and bird footprints from the Lower Cretaceous of Emei County, Sichuan". Memoirs of the Beijing Natural History Museum. 54: 105–120.
  2. 1 2 Lockley, M.G.; Kim, J.-Y.; Kim, K.-S.; Kim, S.-H.; Matsukawa, M.; Rihui, L.; Jianjun, L.; Yang, S.-Y. (2008). "Minisauripus―the track of a diminutive dinosaur from the Cretaceous of China and South Korea: implications for stratigraphic correlation and theropod foot morphodynamics". Cretaceous Research. 29 (1): 115–130. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2007.04.003.
  3. Xing, L.; Lockley, M.G.; Yang, G.; Cao, J.; Benton, M.; Xu, X.; Zhang, J.; Klein, H.; Persons, W.S.; Kim, J.Y.; Peng, G.; Ye, Y.; Ran, H. (2016). "A new Minisauripus site from the Lower Cretaceous of China: Tracks of small adults or juveniles?". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 452: 28–39. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.04.006.
  4. 1 2 Kim, Kyung Soo; Lockley, Martin G.; Lim, Jong Deock; Xing, Lida (2019). "Exquisitely-preserved, high-definition skin traces in diminutive theropod tracks from the Cretaceous of Korea". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 2039. Bibcode:2019NatSR...9.2039K. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-38633-4 . PMC   6375998 . PMID   30765802.
  5. Kim, Kyung Soo; Lim, Jong Deock; Lockley, Martin G.; Xing, Lida; Kim, Dong Hee; Piñuela, Laura; Romilio, Anthony; Yoo, Jae Sang; Kim, Jin Ho; Ahn, Jaehong (2018-11-15). "Smallest known raptor tracks suggest microraptorine activity in lakeshore setting". Scientific Reports. 8 (1): 16908. Bibcode:2018NatSR...816908K. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-35289-4. ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   6237872 . PMID   30442900.