New sauropod tracks from the Lower Jurassic of Poland

Geological Quarterly, 1998,42 (4): 477-480

New sauropod tracks from the Lower Jurassic of Poland

Gerard GIERLINSK!, Gerard SA WICK!

Gierlinski G., Sawicki G. (1998) - New sauropod tracks from the Lower Jurassic of Poland. GeoI. QUaI1., 42 (4): 477-480. Warszawa.

The second find of sauropod tracks from the Early Jurassic strata of Poland is reported. Sauropod trackway referred to the ichnogenus Parabrollfopodlls Lockley, Farlow, Meyer, 1994 has been discovered in the early Hettangian of Soltyk6w, on nOlthcrn slope of the Holy Cross Mountains.

Gerard Gierliriski, Polish Geological II/still/te, Rakowiecka 4, 00-975 Warszawa, Poland; Gerard Sawicki, Educational Department, Channel One TVP SA., Woronicza 17, 00-999 WarSZaIVG, Poland (received: 25.11.1998; accepted: 1.12.1998).

Key words: Early Jurassic, Sauropoda, tracks, Holy Cross MIs.

On November 14th, 1998, during a field trip with a team of the Educational Department of the Polish TV, Channel

One, we have discovered and excavated a four-step sauropod

trackway (PI. I, Fig, I), The trackway have been found in the

southeastern part of Soltyk6w outcrop, known also as the Odrowqz site. Footprints are imprinted atop a sandstone layer

within the lower part of the exposed Soityk6w section, which represents early Hettangian fluvial plain deposits of the Za- gaje Formation (G. Pienkowski, G, Gierlinski, 1987). The site

already revealed large theropod tracks of

Kayentapus solty~

kovensis (Gierlillski, 1991) Gierlinski, 1996, unpublished

smaller theropod ichnite of

Gralla/or sensu

R.

E.

Weems, 1992, and small basal ornithischian footprint of

Anomoepus Hitchcock, 1848 (G. Gierlinski, 1995).

Following the tracks described from the Hettangian of Gromadzice (G. Gierlinski, 1997), the newly discovered

tracks in Soltyk6w constitute a second ichnological record of

the Early Jurassic sauropods in Poland. Sohyk6w tracks are markedly larger than those of Gromadzice, whose pes lengths equal 24.5 and 30.5 cm. Pedal imprints of the new specimen reach a length of 42 em and width of32 em. Manual imprints,

being significantly smaller than the pedal ones, are approxi-

mately 12 em long and 22 em wide. Contrary to the incom- plete Gromadzice trackway, that one from Soltyk6w clearly shows the narrow-gauge pattern sensu J. O. Farlow, 1992 (PI.

II, Fig. 2), which corresponds to the ichnogenus Parabronto- podus Lockley, Farlow, Meyer, 1994, The steps become shorter along the exposed stretch of the trackway. Ratio of pace length to pes length equals 1.60-3.46, ratio of stride length to pes length equals 3.00-5.10, and the pes pace angulation equals 121-152'. Ratio of pace length to manus length equals 7.50-9.67, ratio of stride length to manus length equals 11.03-15.17, and the manus pace angulation equals 92-119'.

Interestingly. there is no Early Ju rassic sauropod record outside Africa and Eurasia.The current ichnological record is

restricted to the Hettangian of Poland and nOlthern Italy (M.

Avanzini, 1997; M. Avanzini et aI., 1997; F, M, Dalla Vec- chia, 1994; M. Lanzinger, G. Leonardi, 1991; G. Leonardi, M. Avanzini, 1994) and the Pliensbachian of Morocco (S.

Ishigaki, 1988). The classic track-bearing Early Jurassic strata of the Newark Supergroup and the Glen Canyon Group in

North America revealed track assemblages of

Kayelltapus, Grallator and Anolnoepus (M, G, Lockley, A. P. Hunt, 1995;

R. E. Weems, 1992), surprisingly similar to the Soltyk6w

assemblage, with the exception. however, of sauropod tracks.

On the other side, contrary to the Liassic track assemblages

of North America, no pro sauropod footprints are reported in

Poland.

6 7 R Gerard Giedifiski. G e d Sawicki

AVANZINI M. (1997) -1mprontedi saumpodi nel Giurassiw inferiore del BeccodiFiladanna(PiattafomadiTrento-Italiasettentrion~e). Shldi Trent. Sci. Nat., ~ c i a ~ e o l . , 72, p. 117-122.

AVANZINI M.. FRlSIA S., VAN DEN ORESSCHE K., KEPPENS E.

(1997) -A dinosaur tracksite in an early Liassic Tidal Flat in nolrhern Italy: paleoenvironmental reconstruction from sedimentology and geo- chemistry. Palaios. 12. p. 53&551.

DALLA VECCHIA F. M. (1994)

. . -

Jurassic and Cretaceous saurowd evidence in the southern Alps and Dinarids. In: Aspects of sauropnd paleobiology (eds. M. G. Lockley, V. E dos Snntos, C. A. Meyer, A. P.

Hunt). Gaia, 10, D. 65-73.

FARLOW J. 0. (1992)

-

Sauropnd Vacks and trackmaken: inkgrating the ichnological and skeletal records. Zubia, 10. p. 89-138.

GIERLI~~SKI G. (1991) -New dinosaur ichnotaxa from the Early Jurassic oftheHoly CrossMauntains, Poland. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclirnat. Palae- ocol., 85, p. 137-148,

GIERLI~~SKI G. (1995) - Sladami polskich dinozaunlw. Poiska Oficyna WydawnimBGW. Warszawa.

G E R L I ~ ~ S K I 0. (1996) -Dinosaur ichnotaxa fmm the Lower Jurassic of Hungav. Geol. Quart.40, p. 119-128, no. 1.

GIERLI~~SKI 0. (1997) - Saumpod tracks in the Enrly Iurnssic of Poland.

Acttt Palaeont. Pol., 42, p. 533-538, no. 4.

HICHCOCK E. (1848) - An allempt to discriminate and describe the animals that made the fossil fwtmarks of the United States, and espe- cially New England. Mem. Am. Acad, Arts. Sci., 3, p. 129-256, no. 2.

ISHIGAKIS. (1988)-LesernpreintesdeDinosauresdu Iurasiqueinf6rieur du Haut Atlas central mamcain. Notes Sew. G6ol. Maroc., 44, p. 79-86.

LANZR*'GERM..l.FOUARDIG.(l99I)-PisledidinosauridelGiumsico inferiore ai l.avini di Marco (Trcnto). In: Dinosaurs - il mondo dei dinosauri (cd. G. Muscio). Kalcidos. Trcnlo, p. 89-94.

LEONARD1 G., AVANZINI M. (1994)

-

Dinosauri in Italia. In: ll tempo dci dinosavri (ed. G. Ligabue). Le Scienze quademi, 76, p. 69-81.

LOCKLEY M G., HUNT A. P. (1995) - Dtnosaur tr.acks ond other fossil foolp~inrs of the westcm Unilcd Slacs. ColurnbinUnivcrs~ry Press. NEW York

LOCKLEY M. G., FARLOW I. 0.. MEYER C. A. (1994) - Brontopodus and Pamabrontopodus ichogen. no". and the significance of wide- and narrow-gaugesaumpod trackways. 1n:Aspectsofsaumpodpaleobiology (eds. M. G. Lockley, V. F. dos Snntos, C. A. Meyer, A. P. Hunt). Gaia, 10, p. 135-145.

P E ~ ~ K O W S K I G., GIERLINSKI G. (1987) - New finds of dinosaur footprints in Liassic ofthe Holy Cmss Mountains and its palaeoenviron- mentnl background. P n . Geol., 36, p. 199-205, no. 4.

WEEMS R. E. (1992)

-

A re-evaluation of the taxonomy of Newark Supergroup saurisehian dinosnur tracks, using extensive statistical data framarecentlv evwred tracksite nearculoeoer. Vireinia. In: Pmc. 26th _,

. . . ^.

^"

forum on the geology of industrial minerals fed. P. C. Sweet). Virginia Division of Mineni Resources Pub.. 119, p. 113-127. Charlottesville.

S t r e s z c z e n i e W listopadzie 1998 r. nutony w m z ekipq Telewizji Edukacyjnej

Telewizji Polskiej S.A. odkryli drugie w Polsce stanowisko ze Sladami zaumpod6w (tabl. I, fig. 1). Trop zlotony z czterech odcisk6w koficzyn tylnych i przednich znajdowal sie ns stmpie lawicy piaskowcowej wchodza- cej w sklad dolnej osad6w formacji zagnjskiej odsloniqtych w Sohy- kowie (p6lnocne obneienie G6r Swietokrzyskich). Osady te stanowia utwory dwni rnlewowej dolnego hettangu Swietokrzyskiego (G. Piefiko- wski. G. Gierlifiski. 1987).

skim(tabl.11, fig. 2). Typ tnki o k d l a n y jest ichnarodzajemParabronIopod~u Lockley. Farlow, Meycr, 1994.

W obliczu kolejnego eumpejskiego stanowiskaz tmpami wsresnojuraj- skich zaurowd6w. oo Gmmadricnch i ~6hocnvch Wlosrech (M. Avanzini.

1997: M. ~ ; a n r i n i

i

in., 1997; I:. M. ~ a l l a ~ e c i h i a . 1991. M. Lanzlnper. G Lconxdt. 1991; G Lwnardi, M. Avanzini. 1994). r;rstanswinzupelny brnk

<lad6<vw klasycznychmponoinych~spd~chliusup6lnocnoa~~~eryk~riskie- eo. W liasie >wietoknvskirn nie odn~towano natomiast orowuropad6w, Podobnic jak pienvs2e odkryte w Polsce <lady zauropod6u z hctlangu kt6rych lropy obecnr s j w dolnej jurm Ameryki ~ ~ l n o c n c j ( M G. iorkley.

Gromad7.1~ (G. Gicrlihski, 1997). dwnier omawiany aka2 jest tmpcm wq- A. P. Hunt. 1995).

EXPLANATIONS OF PLATES

PLATE I PLATE 11

Fig. 1. Field photogrnph of sauropod trackwny in the Soltykdw outcrop Fig. 2. Saumpod trackway (Pnrabrontopodussp.) from the Lower Hettan-

Tmp zaumpodn w odsioonicciu Sohyk6w gian of Soltyk6w

Trop zauropodn (Parabrontopodursp.) zdalnego hettangu Soltykown

Geol. QuM., 1998,42 (4) PLATE I

Gerard GIERLINSKI, G m d SAWICKI -New sauropod tmks from the Lower Jurnssic of Polnnd

PLATE I1 Geol. Quart., 1998.42 (4)

Gerard GLE,RLI~&SKI, Gerard SAWlCKl -New snuropod tracks from tile Lower lunssic of Polnnd