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April 23, 2026Geosciences0 citationsOpen Access

New Dinosaur Tracks from the Upper Cretaceous of Xiakou Village (Nanzhang County) and Jiuxian Town (Yuan’an County), Hubei Province, China

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NLNoura LkebirXZXiongwei ZengLCLong Cheng

Key Points

  • The research aims to identify new dinosaur tracksites and assess their ichnofauna diversity in central China.
  • Analyzed eleven isolated tracks from two tracksites in Hubei Province.
  • Conducted morphometric analysis to determine track morphology and ichnofauna classifications.
  • Identified tracks consistent with small-sized theropods and ornithischians.
  • First reported dinosaur ichnite from central China during the Upper Cretaceous period.
  • Tridactyl tracks indicate the presence of small-sized theropod and ornithischian dinosaurs.
  • Research emphasizes the role of extromorphological factors in track morphology.

Abstract

This study fills a knowledge gap in the distribution of the Upper Cretaceous dinosaur tracks in central China by examining two newly discovered tracksites near Xiakou village (Nanzhang County) and Jiuxian town (Yuan’an County), Hubei Province. Eleven Isolated tracks were analyzed to identify the ichnofauna assemblage. Morphometric analysis indicates the presence of tridactyl and rounded morphologies. The tridactyl tracks are consistent with a small-sized theropod and ornithischian ichnofauna, whereas the rounded shape remains ichnotaxonomically indeterminate. These tracks are the first reported dinosaur ichnite from central China at this age. Despite limited preservation, this research highlights how extromorphological factors influence track morphology, a key issue in ichnological studies. Overall, it contributes new data on the presence of dinosaur ichnofauna in China during the late Mesozoic.

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Cite This Study

Lkebir et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69e9b89b85696592c86ebc28https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences16040164
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