Anchisauripus, Lull, 1904

Niedźwiedzki, Grzegorz, 2011, A Late Triassic dinosaur-dominated ichnofauna from the Tomanová Formation of the Tatra Mountains, Central Europe, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 56 (2), pp. 291-300 : 295-296

Anchisauripus isp.

Fig. 3B–E .

Description.— Four specimens of this ichnogenus were found in the Tatra Mountains tracksites (field observations from Czerwone Żlebki and Červený Ŭplaz; specimens from Fig. 3C, E and two specimens collected from Červený Ŭplaz deposited at Slovak National Museum, Bratislava, Slovakia; Fig. 3B and Tatra Mountains National Park, Zakopane, Poland; Fig. 3D ). All are partially eroded and deformed, but all specimens possess the characteristic size and morphology for this ichnogenus ( Olsen et al. 1998). It is a medium sized functionally tidactyl ichnite (about 17–23 cm long) with relativelly low divarication of outer digits (about 25–30 °). All discovered tracks are preserved as natural casts.

Remarks.—As has been discussed by several authors, there are various subtle differences between the type specimens of Grallator parallelus and Anchisauripus sillimani . For example, Olsen (1980) noted that the projection of digit III beyond the two lateral digits (II and IV) decreases rapidly throughout the Grallator – Anchisauripus ichnite assemblages (see Olsen et al. 1998). In addition, the whole footprint size, shape, and the position of the proximal pads are distinguishing features of both ichnotaxa. Although these differences are evident in the type specimens (e.g., Olsen et al. 1998), some authors avoid the use of the ichnogenus Anchisauripus because it is often doi:10.4202/app.2010.0027

difficult if not impossible to distinguish this morphotype from large Grallator and small Eubrontes (see Milner and Kirkland 2006).

Figures

Fig. 3. Tridactyl tracks (pes prints) of small to medium sized theropod dinosaurs. A. cf. Grallator isp. B–E Anchisauripus isp. A, E. Specimens from Czerwone Żlebki site, Tomanová Formation (?late Norian–Rhaetian), Poland. B–D. Specimens from Červený Ŭplaz site, Tomanová Formation (?late Norian–Rhaetian), Slovakia. A, C, E. Specimens left in field.B. Specimen Z 14 297 housed at Slovak National Museum, Bratislava, Slovakia. D. Specimen deposited at Tatra Mountains National Park, Zakopane, Poland. Photographs (A1–E1) and drawings (A2–E2). Scale bars 5 cm.