Deux nouveaux sites à traces de pas dinosauroïdes dans la Formation Dolomitique de l’Hettangien de Lozère, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

Underground dinosaur tracksite inside a karst of southern France: Early Jurassic tridactyl traces from the Dolomitic Formation of the Malaval Cave (Lozère)

“…However, D. williamsi described by Demathieu et al (2002) shows smaller values of divarication angle II-IV (i.e., 54° in average) than the "Dilophosauripus-Kayentapus" morphotype from the Malaval Cave. Sciau (2003) and Moreau et al (2012aMoreau et al ( , 2012bMoreau et al ( , 2014) mentioned up to 98° values in Dilophosauripus from Aveyron and Lozère. It demonstrates the broad variability of the divarication angle II-IV, probably depending of the nature and the hydration of substratum.…”

“…Among European dinosaur tracksites, Eubrontes is an ichnogenus which was reported from the Hettangian deposits of Italy (e.g., Avanzini et al, 2006), France (e.g., Demathieu et al, 2002 and references therein;Moreau et al, 2012aMoreau et al, , 2014 and Poland (e.g., Gierliński et al, 2004). In the Hettangian deposits of France, Eubrontes (total length longer than 25 cm sensu Olsen et al, 1998) is represented by E. giganteus (Hitchcock, 1845) and E. veillonensis (de Lapparent & Montenat, 1967), described based on material from Connecticut, USA (Lull, 1953) and Vendée, respectively.…”

“…G. variabilis was described based on material from the tidal flat area of Le Veillon (Vendée, western France; de Lapparent & Montenat, 1967) and G. sauclierensis was described based on material from the Sauclières quarry (Aveyron, southern France; Demathieu & Sciau, 1992): small track (i.e., 14 cm long) longer than wide, well distinguished and thin traces of digits, digito-metatarsal pad of digit IV more proximal than of digit II. Although they are abundant in the middle and southern part of the Causses Basin (Demathieu et al, 2002), small Grallator traces seem less common in northern part of the basin (Moreau et al, 2014). Two footprints from the Malaval Cave (A4 and A13; Fig.…”

“…(e.g., Demathieu et al, 2002;Gand et al, 2007;Moreau et al, 2012aMoreau et al, , 2014, Poland (e.g., Gierliński et al, 2004;Niedźwiedzki & Pieńkowski, 2016) and Sweden (e.g., Ahlberg & Siverson, 1991;Lockley & Meyer, 2000). In the Causses Basin, four ichnospecies of Grallator were previously reported Grallator lescurei (Demathieu, 1990), G. minusculus (Hitchcock, 1858), G. sauclierensis (Demathieu & Sciau, 1992), and G. variabilis (de Lapparent & Montenat, 1967).…”

“…Because of the abundance and the diversity of footprints, in France, the most important Early Jurassic megatracksite is the Causses Basin (southern France; e.g., Monod, 1935;Thaler, 1962;Ellenberger, 1988;Demathieu, 1990Demathieu, , 1993Demathieu & Sciau, 1999;Demathieu et al, 2002;Moreau et al, 2012aMoreau et al, , 2012bMoreau et al, , 2014. In this basin, dozens of outdoor tracksites were discovered during the last decades.…”