Research Paper

Theropod swim traces in the Santisol tracksite (Lower Cretaceous), Cameros Basin, La Rioja, Spain

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RAÚL ESPERANTE

Geoscience Research Institute, Loma Linda, California 92350, USA; resperante@llu.edu.
Corresponding author

KEVIN E. NICK

Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California 92350, USA; knick@llu.edu.

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ABSTRACT

Swim traces are rare in dinosaur track sites worldwide. This article reports three sets of theropod swim traces found with walking tracks in the Santisol tracksite (Cameros Basin, La Rioja, Spain). The tracksite contains over one hundred theropod and a few ornithopod walking tracks previously reported. The swim traces are well-preserved and do not show evidence of sediment collapse that characterizes the true tracks. One of the swim traces cuts through one theropod track, indicating that the walking prints formed first, followed by the rise of the water level and the formation of swim traces by swimming theropods.

Key words: Dinosaur tracks, Dinosaur behavior, Cameros Basin, Footprint preservation, Swim behavior. 

How to cite: Esperante, R. & Nick, K. E. (2024). Theropod swim traces in the Santisol tracksite (Lower Cretaceous), Cameros Basin, La Rioja, Spain. Spanish Journal of Palaeontology, 39(1), 111-120.

Received 8 January 2024, Accepted 11 June 2024, Published online 18 June 2024

https://doi.org/10.7203/sjp.29023

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