Anza palaeoichnological site. Late Cretaceous. Morocco. Part II. Problems of large dinosaur trackways and the first African Macropodosaurus trackway. (October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Masrour, Moussa; Lkebir, Noura; Pérez-Lorente, Félix
• Is Part Of: Journal of African earth sciences. Volume 134(2017)
• Page Start: 776
• Page End: 793
• Publication Date: 2017-10
• Subjects: Theropod ichnites -- Macropodosaurus -- Coniacian-Santonian -- Western High Atlas -- Morocco; Earth sciences -- Africa -- Periodicals; Earth sciences -- Middle East -- Periodicals; Geology -- Africa -- Periodicals; Geology -- Middle East -- Periodicals; Sciences de la terre -- Afrique -- Périodiques; Sciences de la terre -- Moyen-Orient -- Périodiques; Géologie -- Afrique -- Périodiques; Géologie -- Moyen-Orient -- Périodiques; Earth sciences; Geology; Africa; Middle East; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 556.05
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2017.04.019
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1464-343X

Abstract

Abstract: The Anza site shows large ichnological surfaces indicating the coexistence in the same area of different vertebrate footprints (dinosaur and pterosaur) and of different types (tridactyl and tetradactyl, semiplantigrade and rounded without digit marks) and the footprint variability of long trackways. This area may become a world reference in ichnology because it contains the second undebatable African site with Cretaceous pterosaur footprints - described in part I - and the first African site with Macropodosaurus footprints. In this work, problems related to long trackways are also analyzed, such as their sinuosity, the order-disorder of the variability (long-short) of the pace length and the difficulty of morphological classification of the theropod footprints due to their morphological variability. Highlights: This area (Anza, Morocco) is an important reference in ichnology because it contains: The first time that the presence of Macropodosaurus has been described in Africa and the second one in which traces attributed to Therizinosaurs in Morocco are mentioned. The fourth report of this type of footprint in the world. The second reported occurrence of pterosaurs tracksites in the Upper Cretaceous of Africa, extending the existence in time of such traces from the Coniacian-Santonian to the Maastrichtian.