Large Tridactyl Dinosaur Tracks from the Early Jurassic Upper Moyeni, Lesotho, southern Africa

The data included here are the photogrammetric models that are supplemental to the following paper: Abrahams, M., Sciscio L., Reid, M., Haupt, T. &amp; Bordy, E. M., 2020. Large tridactyl dinosaur tracks from the Early Jurassic of southern Gondwana - uppermost Elliot Formation, Upper Moyeni, Lesotho. Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae, 90:https://doi.org/10.14241/asgp.2020.07 <br><b>Abstract</b>: A new ichnosite in southwest Lesotho (Upper Moyeni; Quthing District) is located within the uppermost part of the highly fossiliferous Elliot Formation, ~ 35 m below the conformably overlying Clarens Formation and ~ 65 m above the world-renowned Lower Moyeni ichnosite. While the Lower Moyeni site preserves diverse Early Jurassic ichnofossils, the ichnites at the Upper Moyeni comprise one vertebrate burrow and ~ 50 tridactyl tracks with footprint lengths between 15 and 51 cm. Many of the tracks preserve digital pad impressions, claw marks and displacement rims, all related to substrate conditions. The morphometric parameters of the Upper Moyeni tracks are consistent with <i>Grallator</i>, <i>Eubrontes </i>and<i> Kayentapus</i>. Several larger tracks with footprint lengths &gt; 40 cm are <i>Kayentapus</i>-like and <i>Eubrontes</i>-like, and are comparable to previously described very large theropods tracks with lengths &gt; 50 cm from the uppermost Elliot and Clarens Formations. Based on sedimentological and ichnological evidence, the Upper Moyeni ichnofossils were formed in a palaeolandscape with small rivers and shallow lakes by burrowing tetrapods and a variety of bipedal dinosaurs (theropods), some of which were up to 7–8 m in body length. The Upper Moyeni tracks together with the other very large tracks from coeval locations in southern Africa collectively highlight the tendency towards increasing diversity in size of tridactyl tracks, and by extension trackmaker body size, which runs in tandem to the increasing diversity of non-sauropod sauropodomorph body fossils in the Sinemurian-Pliensbachian of southern Gondwana.<br>

本数据集包含的摄影测量模型（photogrammetric models）为以下论文的补充数据：Abrahams, M., Sciscio L., Reid, M., Haupt, T. & Bordy, E. M., 2020. 来自冈瓦纳大陆（Gondwana）南部早侏罗世的大型三趾恐龙足迹——莱索托上莫耶尼地区的最顶部艾略特组（Elliot Formation）。《波兰地质学会会志（Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae）》，90卷：https://doi.org/10.14241/asgp.2020.07<br><b>摘要</b>：莱索托西南部库廷地区的上莫耶尼处发现一处新的足迹化石点，该点赋存于化石富集的艾略特组最顶部地层，距整合覆于其上的克莱伦斯组（Clarens Formation）下方约35米，距世界知名的下莫耶尼足迹化石点上方约65米。下莫耶尼足迹点产出多样的早侏罗世足迹化石，而上莫耶尼足迹点的化石则包含1处脊椎动物潜穴和约50枚三趾足迹，足迹长度介于15至51厘米之间。多数足迹保存有趾垫印痕、爪痕以及位移边，这些特征均与沉积基底环境相关。上莫耶尼足迹的形态计量学参数与格拉拉足迹属（Grallator）、欧布隆足迹属（Eubrontes）以及凯恩塔普斯足迹属（Kayentapus）的特征相符。多枚长度超过40厘米的大型足迹兼具凯恩塔普斯足迹属与欧布隆足迹属的特征，可与此前报道的、产自艾略特组最顶部及克莱伦斯组、长度超50厘米的大型兽脚类（theropods）足迹相类比。基于沉积学与足迹学证据，上莫耶尼的足迹化石形成于发育小型河流与浅湖的古地貌中，造迹生物包括潜穴四足动物以及多种双足恐龙（兽脚类），其中部分个体体长可达7至8米。上莫耶尼足迹以及南非同期其他地点发现的大型足迹共同表明，三趾足迹的尺寸多样性呈上升趋势，相应地造迹恐龙的体型多样性也随之提升，这一趋势与冈瓦纳大陆南部辛涅缪尔期-普林斯巴赫期（Sinemurian-Pliensbachian）地层中非蜥脚类蜥脚形亚目躯体化石的多样性增长相契合。