Preliminary Report on the Courtedoux Dinosaur Tracksite from the Kimmeridgian of Switzerland

Abstract

In 2002 a new dinosaur tracksite was discovered in calcareous laminites of early Late Kimmeridgian age along the future course of the "Transjurane" highway in Courtedoux, Canton Jura, Northern Switzerland. The site has an extraordinary scientific potential, as the laminites, which have been deposited in an intertidal to supratidal environment, contain at least 6 track-bearing levels in a total thickness of about 1 m. The laminites are being systematically excavated by the "Section de paléontologie" over an area of approximately 1500 m 2 . So far the main track level has been uncovered over an area of about 650 m 2 , which reveals 2 trackways of theropods and 17 trackways of sauropods. The sauropod tracks are the smallest known in the Kimmeridgian so far, and the trackways belong to the ichnogenus Parabrontopodus, which has been revealed for the first time in Switzerland. The tracksite belongs to the "Middle Kimmeridgian megatracksite" sensu Meyer (2000), and represents the most important dinosaur tracksite in Switzerland, perhaps with the potential for development into one of the world's largest sauropod tracksites. It will be protected in situ underneath an especially constructed highway-bridge, thus offering opportunities for future research and the development of an interpretative center for education and tourism.

Tethyan-to-boreal correlation in the Kimmeridgian using high-resolution sequence stratigraphy (Vocontian Basin, Swiss Jura, Boulonnais, Dorset)

“…The lower Virgula Member, which occurs in the Noirvaux section and in the upper part of the Roche de Mars section, corresponds in the central Swiss Jura sections to increasing bioclast diversity and bed thickness. Linking the highresolution correlation between southern, central, and northern Swiss Jura sections with the ammonite biostratigraphy defined in the Sur Combe Ronde section (Marty 2002;Marty et al 2003) and comparing it with the chronostratigraphic chart of Hardenbol et al (1998) reveals that the sequence boundary between medium-scale sequences 5 and 6 is located at the top of the Mutabilis ammonite zone (below the Schilleri horizon) and corresponds probably to Kim 4 defined by Hardenbol et al (1998) for northern Europe (Kim 4 boreal ). In all studied sections, Kim 4 for southern Europe (Kim 4 Tethyan ) is located at the top of mediumscale sequence 24, two small-scale sequences (or 200 ka) below the boundary between medium-scale sequences 5 and 6 that corresponds to Kim 4 boreal .…”

“…It is composed of calcareous marl and argillaceous limestone, which contains abundant gastropods and pelecypods, and is interpreted as a shallow lagoon deposit (Marty and Diedrich 2001). The Banné Member occurs below the lower Virgula Member and is located in the Acanthicum ammonite zones (Gygi 1995;Marty and Diedrich 2001;Marty et al 2003) (Fig. 2).…”

“…10 was redrawn from the highly detailed, original log measured by the Section de Paléontologie in Porrentruy, Switzerland (W. Hug, personal communication). There, the lower Virgula Member contains ammonites that are characteristic of the Schilleri horizon, upper part of the Mutabilis zone (Marty 2002;Marty et al 2003).…”

“…Gastropods, pelecypods, echinoids, and ammonites indicate marine depositional environments with normal salinity such as sheltered lagoons (Section de Palé ontologie 2001). The base of the lower Virgula Member is defined by a hard ground, which is located in the upper part of the Mutabilis zone (Schilleri horizon, Lallierianum subzone) (Marty 2002;Marty et al 2003) (Fig. 2).…”

The lost paleosols: Masked evidence for emergence and soil formation on the Kimmeridgian Jura platform (NW Switzerland)

“…Resultant small base-level falls led to periodic emergence of the low-relief platform affecting wide areas and establishing land bridges (Marty et al, 2003;Meyer et al, 2006), as evidenced by numerous dinosaur-track-bearing levels in rocks dating from the Oxfordian to Berriasian Stages (e.g., Meyer and Thüring, 2003;Charollais et al, 2008;Mazin and Hantzpergue, 2010). The tracks are typically preserved in tidal-flat to supratidal-flat biolaminites (Meyer, 1990;Marty, 2008).…”