Triassic tetrapod ichnofossils from Italy: the state of the art

Authors

  • Paolo Mietto <span>Dipartimento di Geoscienze, via Gradenigo 6, I-35131 Padova</span><br /><span></span>
  • Marco Avanzini MUSE <span>&ndash;&nbsp;</span><span></span><span>Museo delle Scienze, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, I-38122 Trento</span><span></span>
  • Matteo Belvedere Institute for Studies in Landscapes and Human Evolution, Bournemouth University, Poole, BH12 5BB
  • Massimo Bernardi MUSE&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;Museo delle Scienze, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, I-38122 Trento
  • Fabio Marco Dalla Vecchia <p><span>Museo Friulano di Storia Naturale, Via Sabbadini 22-34, I-33100 Udine, Italy; </span></p> <p><span>Institut Catal&agrave; de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP), Carrer de l&rsquo;Escola Industrial 23, E-08201, Sabadell, Spain.</span><span></span></p>
  • Simone D'Orazi Porchetti <span>via Centuroni 27, I-02100 Rieti</span><span></span>
  • Piero Gianolla <span>Dipartimento di Fisica e Scienze della Terra, Polo Scientifico e Tecnologico, via Saragat 1 Blocco B, I-44100 Ferrara</span><span></span>
  • Fabio Massimo Petti <span>Societ&agrave; Geologica Italiana, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Roma</span><span></span>

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3304/jmes.2020.17066

Keywords:

Ichnology, Tetrapod footprints, Triassic, Southern Alps, Western Alps, Northern Apennines, Italy

Abstract

We provided here the most complete census of the Italian Triassic tetrapod ichnosites ever published based on an extensive literature review, integrated with previously unpublished data. Most ichnosites are located in the Southern Alps but track-bearing localities are also described in the Western Alps and in Northern Apennines. The stratigraphic distribution of tetrapod footprints can be framed in two macro-sets.

A first set ranges from the late Early Triassic (Olenekian) to the Middle Triassic (Late Anisian, Illyrian) where ichnoassociations are dominated by lizard-like footprints (e.g. Rhynchosauroides isp.) with gradual increase through time of footprints referable to crurotarsal archosaurs (e.g. chirotheriids).

After a hiatus ranging up to the basal part of the Carnian (basal Julian), a second set of ichnoassociations spreads the whole Late Triassic. This second set is dominated by crurotarsal footprints from its base but, in correspondence with the abrupt global climate of the Carnian Pluvial Episode, shows a marked shift to dinosaur-footprints dominance.

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Published

2020-09-22

How to Cite

Mietto, P., Avanzini, M., Belvedere, M., Bernardi, M., Dalla Vecchia, F. M., D'Orazi Porchetti, S., Gianolla, P., & Petti, F. M. (2020). Triassic tetrapod ichnofossils from Italy: the state of the art. Journal of Mediterranean Earth Sciences, 12. https://doi.org/10.3304/jmes.2020.17066

Issue

Section

Tetrapod ichnology in Italy: the state of the art