Matteo Belvedere

University of Florence | UNIFI · Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra

The Jurassic period was crucial for continental ecosystems, with dinosaurs rising to dominance and many key vertebrate groups emerging. In the Early Jurassic, theropod tracks were dominant, alongside those of crocodylomorphs, synapsids, ornithischians, and sauropodomorphs. The Middle Jurassic saw a shift to more diverse ichnofaunas, with new tracks...

The Galinha dinosaur tracksite (Portugal) was declared a Natural Monument in 1996 and is currently designated as Ourém/Torres Novas Dinosaur Footprints Natural Monu ment. This tracksite yields a completely new and unique morphology of sauropod tracks from the Middle Jurassic (Bajocian-Bathonian). This new morphotype was named Polyonyx by Santos et...

We present an updated dinosaur track record from the Chacarilla Formation (Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary) in the Quebrada de Arcas (NE Chile). 94 new tracks, and unidentified tracks in cross section were found in a succession of alluvial siltstone and fine sandstone, that were deposited in an alluvial plane. Track-bearing surfaces were studied with...

Despite the potentially rich Mesozoic formations, the Chilean dinosaur track record is understudied (Yurac et al., 2022) and vague in its chronostratigraphic position. The updated record for the tracksite is now of 94 measurable tracks, assigned to five different morphotypes: Morphotype I was classified as Parabrontopodus-like. The remaining four m...

In September 2022, during the re-organization of fossil deposits of the Museum of Geology and Palaeontology of Florence (MNH), an unexpected crate resurfaced. It contained fossil bones and teeth of numerous vertebrate taxa, labelled to be excavated in association with the Mammuthus meridionalis skeleton displayed in the museum, nicknamed as “Linda”...

The paleontological site of Pietrafitta, located within the Tavernelle-Pietrafitta basin (Umbria), yields one of the richest Early Pleistocene (Calabrian) fossil vertebrate assemblages in Italy, composed by almost 40 different taxa. The assemblage is referred to the Farneta Faunal Unit (ca. 1.6–1.4 Ma) of the late Late Villafranchian. In this work...

Archosaur footprint sites from the Late Triassic are excellent sources of data to provide insights into the dinosaur origin, early evolution, and subsequent rise. Under different circumstances, numerous trace-bearing outcrops situated within areas characterized by high hydrodynamic energy may find themselves prone to rapid weathering and erosion ph...

The skeletal record of Chilean dinosaurs includes sauropods, theropods, ornithopods and thyreophorans [¹]. The track record however consists only of isolated reports from the Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous [ 2 ]. In 2022, a field campaign explored the area of the Quebrada de Huatacondo (Tarapacá Basin) where an ornithopod trackway and an isolated t...

The Saignon ichnosite, located in the Apt syncline, yielded a high density of footprints with hundreds of mammal tracks preserved. It was discovered and first studied in the 1970s, and never reexamined since. Here we present a new analysis of the ichnosite with updates to ichnotaxonomy. The surface of the limestone bed bearing the prints was digiti...

The Mesozoic sedimentary record of the northern Atacama region in Chile is still to be fully explored. Mineralogical and geochemical studies as well as dating methods have never been carried out in this region, even though numerous and well-preserved Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous dinosaur tracksites have been found recently. A pioneer field cam...

Unique anatomical pathologies of the pes and manus are not typically observed in the track record. Exceptional instances where ichnopathologies are present act as a record for disease/injury of the trackmakers' autopods and their effect on locomotion. Frequently 'irregular gaits' have been cited as possible evidence of pathologically influenced beh...

Late Jurassic tracksites often share similar ichnofaunas dominated by sauropod and theropod trackmakers. Our study assesses two Late Jurassic tracksites that are geographically separated but bare comparable ichnofauna and proposed ichnotaxa. Sauropod tracks and trackways from the Late Jurassic sites at Purgatoire Valley (Lower Morrison Formation; C...

The potential of the ichnological record of dinosaurs from Chile is still to be fully explored. While studies of the bone record have seen a renaissance in the last few years, the studies of the track record are still in their infancy. Tracksites are common in the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous formations between the Tarapaca and Atacama regions...

The preservation of dinosaur tracks is crucial for a deeper understanding of ichnotaxonomy. Preservation is affected by the microfacies of a specific tracklayer and this is often neglected in studies of dinosaur tracks and has led to an oversplitting. Recent excavations in North America's largest tracksite (Ralston Creek Member; Morrison Formation)...

The Chilean published record of Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous vertebrate footprint record is up to now very sketchy. Despite cumulative descriptions of single sites, the Mesozoic vertebrate footprints are heavily understudied. Taking this into account, we targeted a first study area that covered the Majala Formation (Oxfordian?-Kimmeridgian?)...

Formby Point, England is a well-documented exposure site in which marine erosion has regularly exposed Neolithic human trackways along the coastline since the 1980s. We report here the discovery of an additional 17 trackways and 61 isolated tracks (181 human footprints in total) discovered during four field seasons of natural site exposure at four...

Studying population ecology in the vertebrate fossil record is a difficult task because of drawbacks such as taphonomic biases. Fossil tracks, conversely, are the in situ evidence left by animals to provide data for the likely natural grouping and relative abundance. This raises the question: can we infer potential changes in populations repeatedly...

Chile's ichnological record has great potential but, apart from a few mentions in the literature, its study has been neglected. Rich track bearing levels, between Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) to Early Cretaceous in age, are known especially, but not only, from the Tarapacá to Atacama regions in northern Chile. These track-bearing sequences were deposi...

Ichnogeneric classification of sauropod trackways is determined using qualitative and quantitative descriptions of morphological parameters. More recently, the validity of several of these parameters has been called into question (e.g., trackway gauge). This paper aims to test traditional and more novel landmark-based geometric morphometric (GM) an...

Augmented reality (AR) has huge potential as a science outreach tool, especially around palaeontology where it is possible to bring extinct animals to life. This paper shares our experiences as academic geoscientists in developing a series of AR applications during a three-year period. We do not focus on the technical issues of app design and codin...

A restudy of the Barkhausen dinosaur tracksite shows that the track-bearing surface reveals considerably more detail than previously indicated, and a new map is presented, showing the trackways of nine sauropods, traveling north, possibly as a group. These are among the smallest sauropod tracks recorded in Europe. There is also evidence of two larg...

Sample size is a challenge for most field scientists determined not by the statistically ideal, but by the available. In vertebrate ichnology, track length is an important variable correlating well with the track‐maker’s biology. It is also key to estimating the minimum number of individuals (MNI) present on a trampled horizon. Broad assumptions on...

The Middle Triassic is a key time span for understanding the evolution of archosaurs and the rise of Dinosauromorpha. A further source of information on this issue may be provided by the study of tetrapod footprints. We revise the tetrapod ichnoassociation of the Quarziti del Monte Serra Formation (Verrucano Group, Monti Pisani, Italy) and identify...

Díez Díaz, V.; Belvedere, M.; Böhmer, C.; Bueno, E.; Choiniere, J.; Darlim, G.; Drozdz, D.; Iannucci, A.; Kotthoff, U.; Malafaia, E.; Mallison, H.; Marigó, J.; Miedema, F.;Mujal, E.; Pardo, J.; Perillo, M.; Sciscio, L.; Tajika, A.; Tschopp, E.; van Heteren, A.H.; Vlachos, E. 2021. How to bring taxonomy into the third dimension: developing guideline...

We present an update and a review of the Late Cretaceous dinosaur tracksites of Bolivia. The Puca Group (Coniacian – Late Maastrichtian) records the tracks and trackways of two different titanosaurid sauropods, ankylosaurs, hadrosaurs and different theropod groups from the Central Andean lacustrine back arc basin. We review the sites from the Marag...

We provide 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, in Northern Apennines, Maritime Alps and in Sa...

Jurassic units of the Lusitanian Basin, housed at the Sociedade de História Natural in Torres Vedras, are here described. They were collected from three different geological formations, the Praia da Amoreira‐Porto Novo (upper Kimmeridgian) and the Alcobaça (Kimmeridgian‐lower Tithonian) formations in the Consolação Sub‐basin and the Freixial Fm. (m...

We provide a list of contribution by Italian scientists to tetrapod ichnology with papers on both material from Italy and abroad. Foreign author's contributions on tetrapod ichnology based on material from Italy are also considered. The list updates the previous one published by D'Orazi Porchetti et al. (2008) and, as a result, includes works from...

The Sociedade de História Natural in Torres Vedras, Portugal houses an extensive collection of as yet undescribed dinosaur tracks with ornithopod affinities. They have been collected from different Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian–Tithonian) geological formations (Praia de Amoreira-Porto Novo, Alcobaça, Sobral, and Freixial) that outcrop along the Portu...

Footprint evidence of human-megafauna interactions remains extremely rare in the archaeological and palaeontological records. Recent work suggests ancient playa environments may hold such evidence, though the prints may not be visible. These so-called “ghost tracks” comprise a rich archive of biomechanical and behavioral data that remains mostly un...

Presentation type: oral communication We report on a series of enigmatic traces from the Early Jurassic of Poland that co-occur with tridactyl dinosaur tracks on the same surface. Apart from theropods, ornithischian as well as tracks of sauropods are known from coeval deposits. Swim traces of theropods and an isolated footprint of a mammal have als...

Late Jurassic theropod tracks are very common both in North Africa and Europe. Two recently described ichnotaxa Megalosauripus transjuranicus and Jurabrontes curtedulensis from the Kimmeridgian of Switzerland show the coexistence of two apex predators in the same palaeoenvironment. Similar tracks can be found in tracksites from the Iberian Peninsul...

The morphology of fossil footprints is the basis of vertebrate footprint ichnology. However, the processes acting during and after trace fossil registration which are responsible for the final morphology have never been precisely defined, resulting in a dearth of nomenclature. Therefore, we discuss the concepts of ichnotaphonomy, ichnostratinomy, t...

Implicit in any biomechanical analysis of tracks (footprints), whatever the animal, is the assumption that depth distribution within the track reflects the applied plantar pressure in some way. Here we describe sub-track deformation structures produced by Proboscidea (probably Mammuthus columbi) at White Sands National Monument (WHSA) in New Mexico...

The Cal Orck’o tracksite is exposed in a quarry wall, approximately 4.4 km NW of Sucre (Department Chuquisaca, Bolivia) in the Altiplano/Cordillera Oriental, in the El Molino Formation (Middle Maastrichtian). Fossiliferous oolitic limestones, associated with large, freshwater stromatolites and nine levels of dinosaur tracks in the El Molino Formati...

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Two sauropodomorph trackways are known from Late Norian-Early Rhaetian lake deposits of the Flem-ing Fjord Formation in Greenland. One (Evazoum) is referable to a prosauropod, and the other (Eosau-ropus) to a basal sauropod. Tidal flat sediments of the Eastern Swiss Alps have yielded trackways of prosauropods attributed to Tet-rasauropus, despite t...

Background Minute to medium-sized (footprint length (FL) less than 30 cm) tridactyl dinosaur tracks are the most abundant in the Late Jurassic tracksites of Highway A16 (Reuchenette Formation, Kimmeridgian) in the Jura Mountains (NW Switzerland). During excavations, two morphotypes, one gracile and one robust, were identified in the field. Furtherm...

List of the specimens analysed, their quality of preservation (preservation grade) and the maximum depth. Those with preservation grade 0–0.5 are not included in the figshare file. The tracks where the variation along the trackway has been analysed are in red.

Map of the Courtedoux—Tchâfouè tracksite, level 1065 (TCH1065). In red (gracile) and blue (robust) the minute to medium-sized tridactyl tracks and in green, the larger morphtoype (Jurabrontes curtedulensis see Marty et al., 2017). Source credit: OCC-SAP, Canton Jura.

Map of the Courtedoux—Béchat Bovais tracksite, level 500 (BEB500). In red (gracile) and blue (robust) the minute to medium-sized tridactyl tracks and in green, the larger morphtoype (Morphotype II). Source credit: OCC-SAP, Canton Jura.

Map of the Chevenez—Combe Ronde, level 500 (CRO500). In red (gracile) and blue (robust) the minute to medium-sized tridactyl tracks and in green, the larger morphtoype (Morphotype II). Source credit: OCC-SAP, Canton Jura.

The Cal Orck'o tracksite lies in a quarry approximately 4.4 km to the northeast of the centre of Sucre (Dep. Chuquisaca, Bolivia) at an altitude of 3028 m.a.s.l. in the Altiplano/Cordillera Oriental. The El Molino Formation (Middle Maastrichtian, Upper Cretaceous) is composed of sandy limestones and claystones. Fossiliferous oolitic limestones, ass...

Vertebrate tracks are subject to a wide distribution of morphological types. A single trackmaker may be associated with a range of tracks reflecting individual pedal anatomy and behavioural kinematics mediated through substrate properties which may vary both in space and time. Accordingly, the same trackmaker can leave substantially different morph...

Supplemental Information on methods and geological settings The supplemental file includes information about the methodologies used in this paper to collect and analyse three-dimensional data and more information on the geological context of the studied areas, i.e., the Laetoli tracksite (Tanzania) and the Ajoie ichnocoenosis (Switzerland).

Raw data repositories The document includes the link to all the repositories where the raw data used in this work are located.

Background. Minute to medium-sized (FL less than 30 cm) tridactyl dinosaur tracks are the most abundant in the Late Jurassic tracksites of Highway A16 (Reuchenette Formation, Kimmeridgian) in the Jura Mountains (NW Switzerland). During excavations, two morphotypes, one gracile and one robust, were identified in the field. Furthermore, two large-siz...

Background. Minute to medium-sized (FL less than 30 cm) tridactyl dinosaur tracks are the most abundant in the Late Jurassic tracksites of Highway A16 (Reuchenette Formation, Kimmeridgian) in the Jura Mountains (NW Switzerland). During excavations, two morphotypes, one gracile and one robust, were identified in the field. Furthermore, two large-siz...

The collection and dissemination of vertebrate ichnological data is struggling to keep up with techniques that are becoming commonplace in the wider palaeontological field. A standard protocol is required to ensure that data is recorded, presented and archived in a manner that will be useful both to contemporary researchers, and to future generatio...

After new studies were carried out in the Lopingian Val Gardena Sandstone of northern Italy, in the Recoaro area (Venetian Prealps, NE Italy), the following tetrapod ichnotaxa are identified: cf. Capitosauroides isp., cf. Merifontichnus isp., Pachypes isp., Paradoxichnium isp., and Rynchosauroides isp., probably corresponding to ?parareptile, capto...

The Cal Orck'o tracksite lies in a quarry approximately 4.4 km to the northeast of the centre of Sucre (Dep. Chuquisaca, Bolivia) at an altitude of 3028 m.a.s.l. in the Altiplano/Cordillera Oriental [1]. The El Molino Formation (Middle Maastrichtian, Upper Cretaceous) is composed of sandy limestones and claystones. Fossiliferous oolitic limestones,...

Megalosauripus is one of the most common theropod ichnotaxa in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. It has been described from several localities in Europe, America, and Asia. After a controversial and still unfinished revision process, only two ichnospecies have been considered valid: M. uzbekistanicus and M. teutonicus. Recent work on the abun...

Megalosauripus is one of the most common theropod ichnotaxa in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. It has been described from several localities in Europe, America, and Asia. After a controversial and still unfinished revision process, only two ichnospecies have been considered valid: M. uzbekistanicus and M. teutonicus. Recent work on the abun...

Dinosaur footprints from the Lower Jurassic of northeastern Italy are well known and, since the first discoveries in the early 1990s, many sites have been described. Tracks are mostly found in the peritidal limestones of the Calcari Grigi Group, deposited on the Trento carbonate platform, now cropping out in the Southern Alps. In 2011, a group of s...

A new ichnospecies of a large theropod dinosaur, Megalosauripus transjuranicus, is described from the Reuchenette Formation (Early–Late Kimmeridgian, Late Jurassic) of NW Switzerland. It is based on very well-preserved and morphologically-distinct tracks (impressions) and several trackways, including different preservational types from different tr...

Description and interpretation of tracks and trackways. (DOC)

BEB500-TR7. (A) Outline drawing of the trackway (scale 1:50). (B) Photo of BEB500-TR7-L2. Scale bar 20 cm. (C) Interpretative outline drawing of BEB500-TR7-L2. (D) False-color depth map of BEB500-TR7-L2. Depth measured in mm. (E) Photo of BEB500-TR7-R2. Scale 20 cm. (F) Interpretative outline drawing of BEB500-TR7-R2. (G) False-color depth map of B...

Trackways from level BSY1025. Outline drawings at 1:50 scale of trackways from BSY1025. (A) BSY1025-T1. (B) BSY1025-T2. (TIF)

BSY1040-T1. (A) Outline drawing at 1:50 scale of the trackway. (B) Photo of BSY1040-T1-R1 (paratype). Scale bar 20 cm. (C) Interpretative outline drawing of BSY1040-T1-R1. (D) False-color depth map of BSY1040-T1-R1. Depth measured in mm. (E) Photo of BSY1040-T1-L2. Scale bar 20 cm. (F) Interpretative outline drawing of BSY1040-T1-L2. (G) False-colo...

TCH1020-T2. (A) Outline drawing at 1:50 scale of the trackway. (B) Photo of TCH1020-T2-L1. Scale bar 18 cm (10 cm for the black/white scale bar). (C) Interpretative outline drawing of TCH1020-T2-L1. (D) False-color depth map of TCH1020-T2-L1. Depth measured in mm. (E) Photo of TCH1020-T2-R1. Scale bar 20 cm. (F) Interpretative outline drawing of TC...

TCH1025-T2. (A) Outline drawing at 1:50 scale of the trackway. (B) Photo of TCH1025-T2-L1 (paratype). Scale bar 20 cm. (C) Interpretative outline drawing of TCH1025-T2-L1. (D) False-color depth map of TCH1025-T2-L1 Depth measured in mm. (TIF)

Trackways from level TCH1030. (A) Outline drawing at 1:50 scale of TCH1030-T3. (B) Photo of TCH1030-T3-L1. Scale bar 30 cm. (C) Interpretative outline drawing of TCH1030-T3-L1. (D) False-color depth map of TCH1030-T3-L1. Depth measured in mm. (E) Outline drawing of TCH1030-T3 (scale 1:50). (TIF)

Trackways from level BSY1035. Outline drawings at 1:50 scale of trackways from BSY1035. (A) BSY1035-T1. (B) BSY1035-T7. (TIF)

BSY1040-T9. (A) Outline drawing at 1:50 scale of the trackway. (B) Photo of BSY1040-T9-R3. Scale bar 30 cm. (C) Interpretative outline drawing of BSY1040-T9-R3. (D) False-color depth map of BSY1040-T9-R3. Depth measured in mm. (TIF)

TCH1000-TR1. (A) Outline drawing at 1:50 scale of the trackway. (B) Photo of TCH1000-TR1-R2. Scale bar 30 cm. (C) Interpretative outline drawing of TCH1000-TR1-R2. (D) False-color depth map of TCH1000-TR1-R2. Depth measured in mm. (E) Photo of TCH1000-TR1-L3. Scale bar 30 cm. (F) Interpretative outline drawing of TCH1000-TR1-L3. (G) False-color dep...

TCH1000-TR2. (A) Outline drawing at 1:50 scale of the trackway. (B) Photo of TCH1000-TR1-R9. Scale bar 30 cm. (C) Interpretative outline drawing of TCH1000-TR1-R9. (D) False-color depth map of TCH1000-TR1-R9. Depth measured in mm. (E) Photo of TCH1000-TR1-L10. Scale bar 30 cm. (F) Interpretative outline drawing of TCH1000-TR1-L10. (G) False-color d...

TCH1020-T3. Outline drawing at 1:50 scale of the trackway. (TIF)

TCH1030-T1. (A) Outline drawing at 1:50 scale of the trackway. (B) Photo of TCH1030-T1-R4. Scale bar 20 cm. (C) Interpretative outline drawing of TCH1030-T1-R4. (D) False-color depth map of TCH1030-T1-R4. Depth measured in mm. (TIF)

TCH1020-T3. Outline drawing at 1:50 scale of the trackway. (TIF)

CRO500-T43. Outline drawing of the trackway (scale 1:50). (TIF)

BEB500. Outline drawings of trackways from BEB500 (sca