A new Cenomanian vertebrate tracksite at Tamajón (Guadalajara,Spain): Palaeoichnology and palaeoenvironmental implications

A new Upper Cretaceous vertebrate tracksite has been discovered at Tamajón (Iberian Ranges, Guadalajara, Spain). The track level is a relatively smooth and slightly undulating sandy ferruginous crust, corresponding to an erosive surface at the base of a small meandering channel. It is incised into the underlying planar cross-bedded sandstones of coastal bars located at the middle-upper part of the Utrillas Formation (middle-upper Cenomanian). The site shows an extraordinary concentration of vertebrate tracks, among which numerous sets of two to five isolated digit impressions (“swim tracks”) and, at least, two trackways referred to crocodyliforms, and a single tridactyl footprint probably produced by a theropod dinosaur can be recognized. There are also several long traces (epichnial grooves) revealing sharp direction changes (up to 90°) which seem to be fish fin traces (Undichna unisulca), although crocodyliforms (tail marks) and/or fish invertebrates cannot be rejected as possible tracemakers. Some crocodyliform tracks reveal a thin raised rim, due to the displacement of the sediment by the pressure produced by the feet. Several impressions are moderately deformed by small sediment slides, only preserving their deepest part (claw marks). This is clearly indicative of a soft substrate with a high degree of plasticity and water content at the time of the track registration. Nevertheless, the sediment was hard enough to preserve manus and pes print morphologies and also possible crocodyliform tail and/or fish fin traces. Small rhizoliths can also be recognized and may belong to herbaceous wetland vegetation. The morphology of the palaeochannel, the sedimentary context and the track preservation seem to indicate that the tracks were impressed in a shallow channel located near the coast, under wet conditions and in different moments of time. This discovery represents the first occurrence of vertebrate ichnites in the Utrillas Formation, a stratigraphic unit where osteological and ichnological remains are relatively scarce, and it confirms that some crocodyliforms lived in near coast channels during the deposition of this unit.     

济阳坳陷车镇凹陷古近系沙河街组遗迹化石Macaronichnus(通心粉管迹)及其沉积环境

济阳坳陷车镇凹陷古近系沙河街组发现的Macaronichnus segregatis(分离通心粉管迹)是一种直到微弯曲形状的层内进食潜穴,个体较小,不分枝,长一般7～8 mm,直径1～3 mm,与前人发现的化石在个体大小上存在着差异。它主要出现于四类环境：①三角洲平原河道间低地,②三角洲、扇三角洲前缘远端砂坝和浊积扇的中扇到外扇,③潮湿气候条件下的浅湖,④周期性干旱气候条件下的滨浅湖。不同沉积环境中产出的Msegregatis都分布于粉砂质泥岩中。通过分析各沉积环境的水动力条件和水体化学性质以及Msegregatis的形成过程,可得出以下结论：①Msegregatis出现的水动力条件中等,水体能量过高或过低,都不适宜其生成;②Msegregatis出现的水体化学性质介于贫氧与富氧之间;③Msegregatis是在沉积物沉积后还未固结时由食沉积物生物活动造成的,衬壁的出现反映了软基底性质。