Abstract
We report here new and the first mammaliamorph tracks from the Early Cretaceous of Africa. The tracksite, that also bears crocodylomorph and sauropod dinosaurian tracks, is in the Catoca diamond mine, Lunda Sul Province, Angola. The mammaliamorph tracks have a unique morphology, attributed to Catocapes angolanus ichnogen. et ichnosp. nov. and present an anterolateral projection of digit I and V. The tracks with an average length of 2.7 cm and width of 3.2 cm are the largest mammaliamorph tracks known from the Early Cretaceous unmatched in size in the skeletal fossil record. The crocodylomorph trackways and tracks are attributed to Angolaichnus adamanticus ichnogen. et ichnosp. nov. (‘ichnofamily’ Batrachopodidae) and present a functionally pentadactyl pes, an extremely outwardly rotated handprint, and an unusual tetradactyl and plantigrade manus. One medium-sized sauropod dinosaur trackway preserved skin impressions of a trackmaker with stride length of 1.6 m; a second is that of a small-sized sauropod trackmaker with a pace length of 75 cm.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 220-232 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |
| Volume | 471 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Apr 2017 |
Funding
Our most sincere gratitude goes to the Sociedade Mineira de Catoca [Catoca Diamond Mine Company], without whose cooperation, interest and collaboration on preserving the studied material this paper would have not been possible. We thank in particular Jose Manuel Augusto Ganga Jr., the general manager of the Catoca Mining Company for support and permissions, and Teofilo Assunção Rodrigues Chifunga for logistical support. This publication results from Projecto PaleoAngola, an international cooperative research effort among the contributing authors and their institutions, funded by the National Geographic Society (8039-06 and 8250-07), the Petroleum Research Fund of the American Chemical Society (45227-AC8), Sonangol E.P., Esso Angola, Fundação Vida of Angola, LS Films, Maersk, Damco, Safmarine, ISEM at SMU, The Royal Dutch Embassy in Luanda, TAP Airlines, Royal Dutch Airlines, and The Saurus Institute. We thank Margarida Ventura and André Buta Neto for providing our team help in the field. Tako and Henriette Koning provided valuable support and friendship in Angola. We also want to thank Matteo Belvedere (Museum für Naturkunde Berlin) and João Russo (GeoBioTec-FCT/Museu da Lourinhã) for their help on photogrammetry, Steve Hasiotis (University of Kansas) for helping in identifying invertebrate trace fossils, Alexandra Tomás (Museu da Lourinhã) for the laboratory preparation of the samples, and Joana Bruno (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) for the illustration of the Catoca Mine in the graphical abstract. This research would not have been possible without the support from the late Kalunga Lima of LS Filmes in Luanda.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Catoca Mining Company | |
| Fundação Vida of Angola | |
| Margarida Ventura and André Buta Neto | |
| Museum für Naturkunde Berlin | |
| Royal Dutch Airlines | |
| Royal Dutch Embassy in Luanda | |
| Saurus Institute | |
| Sociedade Mineira de Catoca | |
| TAP Airlines | |
| Teofilo Assunção Rodrigues Chifunga | |
| National Geographic Society | 8039-06, 8250-07 |
| American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund | 45227-AC8 |
| University of Kansas | |
| Saint Mary’s University |
UN SDGs
This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
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SDG 14 Life Below Water
Keywords
- Angola
- Angolaichnus adamanticus
- Catocapes angolanus
- Cretaceous
- Crocodylomorph
- Footprints
- Mammaliamorph
- Sauropod
- Tracks
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