''Minisauripus'' is an
ichnogenus
An ichnotaxon (plural ichnotaxa) is "a taxon based on the fossilized work of an organism", i.e. the non-human equivalent of an artifact. ''Ichnotaxon'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''íchnos'') meaning "track" and English , itself derived from ...
of
theropod
Theropoda (; from ancient Greek , (''therion'') "wild beast"; , (''pous, podos'') "foot"">wiktionary:ποδός"> (''pous, podos'') "foot" is one of the three major groups (clades) of dinosaurs, alongside Ornithischia and Sauropodom ...
dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...
s from the
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous (geochronology, geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphy, chronostratigraphic name) is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 143.1 ...
of
East Asia
East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
. The trackmaker of ''Minisauripus'' would have been among the smallest known non-avian dinosaurs. This ichnogenus contains two named ichnospecies from China, ''M. chuanzhuensis'' and ''M. zhenshuonani'', with several indeterminate ichnospecies known from China, South Korea and Japan.
Discovery
The type ichnospecies ''M. chuanzhuensis'' was first described in 1995 from the Early Cretaceous
Jiaguan Formation of
Sichuan
Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...
, China. The second ichnospecies ''M. zhensuonani'' was described in 2008 from the Tianjialou Formation (
Barremian
The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 125.77 Ma (million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma (Historically, this stage was placed at 129.4 million to approximately 125 million years ago) It is a ...
-
Albian
The Albian is both an age (geology), age of the geologic timescale and a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early Cretaceous, Early/Lower Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch/s ...
) of
Shandong
Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...
, China.
Trace fossils from the
Haman Formation (Albian) of South Korea were referred to as ''M.'' cf. ''zhenshuonani'' or ''M.'' cf. ''chuanzhuensis''.
[ Other trace fossils attributed to ''M.'' isp. were discovered from the ]Feitianshan Formation
The Feitianshan Formation is a geological formation in China. It dates back to the Early Cretaceous. Among the known ichnofossils are footprints of dinosaurs
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first a ...
of China, the Jinju Formation (Albian) of South Korea and the Kitadani Formation (Aptian
The Aptian is an age (geology), age in the geologic timescale or a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous, Early or Lower Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), S ...
) of Japan.
Classification
About 95 tracks have been attributed to ''Minisauripus'', and over 80% of them were less than long. The abundance of such small footprints might suggest that the trackmaker of ''Minisauripus'' was a small non-avian theropod, not a juvenile of a larger taxon.[ The ''Minisauripus'' tracks show three distinct toes, unlike the tracks of similar-sized small dromaeosaurids such as '' Dromaeosauriformipes'', which are didactyl, with the recurved claw on the second toe being held off the ground and thus not preserved in the trackway.]
See also
* List of dinosaur ichnogenera
This list of dinosaur ichnogenera is a comprehensive listing of all ichnogenera that have been attributed to dinosaurs, excluding class Aves (birds, both living and those known only from fossils) and purely vernacular terms. The list includes al ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6865699
Theropod trace fossils
Trace fossil stubs