Ruopodosaurus

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Ruopodosaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, Cenomanian
Trace fossil classification Edit this classification
Ichnogenus: †Ruopodosaurus
Arbour et al., 2025
Type ichnospecies
†Ruopodosaurus clava
Arbour et al., 2025

Ruopodosaurus (lit. 'tumble down foot lizard') is an ichnogenus of ankylosaurian dinosaur footprint. The genus contains a single species, Ruopodosaurus clava, described in 2025 from prints found in the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian age) Dunvegan and Kaskapau formations of Canada (Alberta and British Columbia). Additional prints from the similarly aged Jindong Formation of South Korea were later tentatively referred to this genus.[1] Ruopodosaurus represents the first recognized ankylosaurid tracks in the trace fossil record.[2]

Ruopodosaurus is characterized by a pentadactyl manus (five-fingered hand) print and tridactyl pes (three-fingered foot) print. As such, it can be identified as having been created by a member of the ankylosaur family Ankylosauridae. This is in contrast to the tetradactyl (four-toed) pes prints of Tetrapodosaurus, which were created by non-ankylosaurid ankylosaurs such as 'nodosaurids'.[2] Fragmentary body fossil remains likely belonging to ankylosaurids have also been identified from the Canadian geological formations from which Ruopodosaurus is known.[3][4][5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Yoon, Han Sang; Kim, Hyun Wook; Park, Jin-Young; Jung, Seung-Ho; Kong, Dal-Yong; Lee, Yuong-Nam (2025-09-17). "First reports of a probable ankylosaurian (Thyreophora) trackway from the Jindong Formation (Cenomanian) of Goseong County, South Korea". Cretaceous Research (in press) 106240. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106240.
  2. ^ a b Arbour, Victoria M.; Lockley, Martin G.; Drysdale, Eamon; Rule, Roy; Helm, Charles W. (2025-04-14). "A new thyreophoran ichnotaxon from British Columbia, Canada confirms the presence of ankylosaurid dinosaurs in the mid Cretaceous of North America". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 44 (5). doi:10.1080/02724634.2025.2451319. ISSN 0272-4634.
  3. ^ Burns, Michael E.; Vavrek, Matthew J. (2014-05-09). Dodson, Peter (ed.). "Probable ankylosaur ossicles from the Middle Cenomanian Dunvegan Formation of Northwestern Alberta, Canada". PLOS One. 9 (5) e96075. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0096075. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 4015975. PMID 24816807.
  4. ^ Arbour, Victoria M.; Larson, Derek; Vavrek, Matthew; Buckley, Lisa; Evans, David (2020-09-01). "An ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Cenomanian Dunvegan Formation of northeastern British Columbia, Canada". Fossil Record. 23 (2): 179–189. doi:10.5194/fr-23-179-2020. ISSN 2193-0074.
  5. ^ Cross, Emily G.; Arbour, Victoria M. (2024-04-29). "An ankylosaur femur from the mid-Cretaceous of the Peace Region of northeastern British Columbia". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 61 (6): 678–685. doi:10.1139/cjes-2023-0118. ISSN 0008-4077.
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