First dinosaur tracks from the Açu Formation, Potiguar Basin (mid-Cretaceous of Brazil)

Abstract

We record a new ichnosite bearing dinosaur tracks from the mid-Cretaceous (Aptian? -Cenomanian) of Brazil. The Fazenda dos Pingos ichnosite is situated within a sandstone pavement of the Açu Formation (Açu 3 unit) from the Potiguar Basin in the State of Rio Grande do Norte. This is a small ichnofauna, with only a few individual isolated tracks. One specimen is unequivocally attributed to a large sauropod and another to an ornithopod. Two other specimens represent poorly preserved tracks assigned to sauropods. This is the fi rst record of dinosaur tracks from the Potiguar Basin and from the Rio Grande do Norte State.