''Steganoposaurus'' 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 fossil reptile footprints. The ichnospecies ''Steganoposaurus belli'', was erected for footprints discovered in

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

's Tensleep Sandstone. The find was first reported to the

scientific literature Scientific literature encompasses a vast body of academic papers that spans various disciplines within the natural and social sciences. It primarily consists of academic papers that present original empirical research and theoretical ...

Edward Branson Edwin Bayer Branson (May 11, 1877 – March 12, 1950) was an American geologist and paleontologist. He was a professor of geology at the University of Missouri for 37 years. Biography Branson was born in Belleville, Kansas, one of six children o ...

and

Maurice Mehl Maurice Goldsmith Mehl (1887 - 1966) was an American paleontologist and professor in the geology department at the University of Missouri. Life and career Mehl was born on December 25, 1887, to Frank and Rebecca Goldsmith Mehl. After graduati ...

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

. This creature was originally presumed to be an

amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

, but the toe prints it left behind were pointed like a

reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

's rather than round like an amphibians. The actual trackmaker may have been similar to the genus ''

Hylonomus ''Hylonomus'' (; ''hylo-'' "forest" + ''nomos'' "dweller") is an extinct genus of reptile that lived during the Bashkirian stage of the Late Carboniferous. It is the earliest known crown group amniote and the oldest known unquestionable reptile, ...

''. The ichnogenus '' Tridentichnus'' are similar footprints preserved in the

Supai Formation The Supai Group is a slope-former, slope-forming sequence of mixed red beds and limestones that outcrop in the Colorado Plateau. The group was laid down during the Pennsylvanian (geology), Pennsylvanian to Lower Permian. Cliff-former, Cliff-formin ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Footnotes

References

* Lockley, Martin and Hunt, Adrian. '' Dinosaur Tracks of Western North America''. Columbia University Press. 1999. Reptile trace fossils {{trace-fossil-stub