''Anomoepus'' is the name assigned to several

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

footprints first reported from

Early Jurassic The Early Jurassic Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event, 201.3 Ma&nbs ...

beds of the

Connecticut River Valley The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, USA in 1802. Moyeni tracksite features

All four feet have left impressions. The smaller forefeet have five toes, whereas the larger hind feet have three toes. There is also an impression which might indicate where the creature rested. The footprints were discovered, amongst others, by a farm boy, Pliny Moody. E.B. Hitchcock, a clergyman, described the ''Anomoepus'' footprints and others as evidence of ancient

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s. They have since been identified as belonging to a

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is ...

, probably an ornithischian, as indicated by the number of toes and the absence of claws on the rear digits. Trackways assigned to ''Anomoepus'' from

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Cz ...

have also been described. ''Anomoepus'' is the name of the footprint, not of the dinosaur, the identity of which remains unknown.

Ichnospecies

References

Dinosaur trace fossils Early Jurassic dinosaurs of North America Paleontology in Massachusetts {{ornithischian-stub

Ichnospecies

See also

References