Prorotodactylus
|
Prorotodactylus Temporal range: Early Triassic |
|
|---|---|
| Trace fossil classification | |
| Ichnoclass: | Reptilipedia |
| Ichnofamily: | †Prorotodactylidae |
| Ichnogenus: |
†Prorotodactylus Ptaszynski, 2000 |
| Type ichnospecies | |
|
P. mirus Ptaszynski, 2000 |
|
| Ichnospecies | |
|
|
Prorotodactylus is an dinosauromorph ichnogenus known from fossilized footprints found in Poland and France. It may have been made by a dinosauromorph that was a precursor to the dinosaurs, possibly closely related to Lagerpeton. Fossils of Prorotodactylus date back to the early Olenekian stage of the Early Triassic, making it the oldest known dinosauromorph. Its presence during this time extends the range of the dinosaur stem lineage to the start of the Early Triassic, soon after the Permian-Triassic extinction event.Prorotodactylus is the only ichnogenus within the ichnofamily Prorotodactylidae. Two ichnospecies are known, the type P. mirus and P. lutevensis.
Prorotodactylus mirus, the type ichnospecies, has been found in the Holy Cross Mountains in Poland. It was named in 2000, with the specific name meaning "strange" in Latin in reference to unusual features in forefoot imprints. A second ichnospecies, P. lutevensis, was erected along with the type. P. lutevensis is from the Middle Triassic of France and was first described in 1984 as Rhynchosauroides lutevensis. It was reassigned on the basis of many similarities with P. mirus.
P. mirus tracks have been found in many localities. The holotype specimen, a set of left forefoot and hind foot imprints, are from the Wióry locality near the town of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. The footprints were located in the Labyrinthodontidae Beds of the Middle Buntsandstein, or Bunter sandstone. Recent studies of the biostratigraphy and magnetostratigraphy of the area have shown that the Wióry site is Early Spathian (Early to Late Olenekian) in age. More tracks have been found from Wióry since the initial description of P. mirus, and have shown that P. mirus was a rare component of the ichnofauna.
...
Wikipedia