First records of crocodyle and pterosaur tracks in the Upper Jurassic of Portugal.

Octavio Mateus, Jesper Milàn

Abstract

The Upper Jurassic of Portugal has a rich vertebrate fauna well documented from both body and trace fossils. Although the occurrence of crocodyles and pterosaurs is well documented from body fossils, trace fossils from both groups were unknown until now. Here we describe an isolated crocodyle-like track from Praia da Peralta and pterosaur tracks from the Kimmeridgian of Pedreira do Avelino, Sesimbra (Azoia Fm.) and Porto das Barcas, Lourinha (Lourinha Fm.). An enigmatic track suggests the possible presence of a small, tail-dragging tetrapod. Possible track-makers are suggested based on the known Late Jurassic vertebrate fauna of Portugal.
Original languageEnglish
JournalNew Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. Bulletin
Volume51
Pages (from-to)83-88
Number of pages6
ISSN1524-4156
Publication statusPublished - 2010

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