Mantracks

@misc{ballou1922mystery1,
    author = "Ballou, W. H",
    title = "Mystery of the Petrified 'Shoe-Sole 5,000,000 Years Old",
    year = "1922",
    howpublished = "American Weekly, New York Sunday American, p. 2",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Ballou, W. H., 1922, Mystery of the Petrified 'Shoe-Sole 5,000,000 Years Old': American Weekly, New York Sunday American, p. 2.}"
}

Erosion has laid bare at least eight localities in Somervell County, Texas, showing dinosaur tracks in the Glen Rose limestone. It is with keen regret that this article records the disappearance of one of the most notable of these exhibits, the well known track locality at the fourth crossing of the Paluxy River, about four miles west of the town of Glen Rose. Stream erosion, which brought to view there a superb collection of tracks, continued its work too well and wiped out the exhibit as an eraser wipes out a school­boy's blackboard drawing.

@article{openalexw3190071222,
    author = "Shuler, Ellis W.",
    title = "Dinosaur Tracks At The Fourth Crossing Of The Paluxy River Near Glen Rose, Texas",
    year = "1937",
    journal = "SMU Scholar (Southern Methodist University)",
    abstract = "Erosion has laid bare at least eight localities in Somervell County, Texas, showing dinosaur tracks in the Glen Rose limestone. It is with keen regret that this article records the disappearance of one of the most notable of these exhibits, the well known track locality at the fourth crossing of the Paluxy River, about four miles west of the town of Glen Rose. Stream erosion, which brought to view there a superb collection of tracks, continued its work too well and wiped out the exhibit as an eraser wipes out a school­boy's blackboard drawing.",
    openalex = "W3190071222"
}

@misc{andnagle1968glen,
    author = "Nagle, J.S.",
    title = "Glen Rose Cycles and Facies, Paluxy River Valley, Somervell County, Texas",
    year = "1968",
    booktitle = "Geological Circulars",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.23867/gc6801d",
    doi = "10.23867/gc6801d",
    openalex = "W4230606629"
}

@misc{cook1970william5,
    author = "Cook, M. A",
    title = "William J. Meister discovery of human footprint with trilobites in a Cambrian formation of western Utah, in Lammerts, W. E., ed., Why Not Creationism?",
    year = "1970",
    howpublished = "Philadelphia, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, p. 185-186",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Cook, M. A., 1970, William J. Meister discovery of human footprint with trilobites in a Cambrian formation of western Utah, in Lammerts, W. E., ed., Why Not Creationism?: Philadelphia, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, p. 185-186.}"
}

@article{doi1010160031018272900491,
    author = "Ostrom, John H.",
    title = "Were some dinosaurs gregarious?",
    year = "1972",
    journal = "Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(72)90049-1",
    doi = "10.1016/0031-0182(72)90049-1",
    openalex = "W1965470557",
    references = "doi102475ajss444262294, doi105962bhltitle70405, lull1915triassic, openalexw3190071222"
}

@misc{neufeld1975dinosaur24,
    author = "Neufeld, B",
    title = "Dinosaur tracks and giant men",
    year = "1975",
    howpublished = "Origins, v. 2, no. 2, p. 64- 67",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Neufeld, B., 1975, Dinosaur tracks and giant men: Origins, v. 2, no. 2, p. 64- 67.}"
}

@misc{morris1976the19,
    author = "Morris, J. D",
    title = "The Paluxy River tracks",
    year = "1976",
    howpublished = "ICR Impact Series, v. 35, p. i- viii",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Morris, J. D., 1976, The Paluxy River tracks: ICR Impact Series, v. 35, p. i- viii.}"
}

@book{morris1976tracking20,
    author = "Morris, J. D",
    title = "Tracking Those Incredible Dinosaurs and the People Who Knew Them",
    year = "1976",
    publisher = {San Diego, California, Creation-Life Publishers, 239 p.; See rebuttal: "Tracking those incredible creationists"...Satiricon},
    note = {talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Morris, J. D., 1976, Tracking Those Incredible Dinosaurs and the People Who Knew Them: San Diego, California, Creation-Life Publishers, 239 p.; See rebuttal: "Tracking those incredible creationists"...Satiricon.}}
}

@misc{conrad1981tripping4,
    author = "Conrad, E. C",
    title = "Tripping over a trilobite",
    year = "1981",
    howpublished = "A study of the Meister tracks: Creation/Evolution, v. 2, p. 30-33",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Conrad, E. C., 1981, Tripping over a trilobite: A study of the Meister tracks: Creation/Evolution, v. 2, p. 30-33.}"
}

ABSTRACT A large slab of arenaceous siltstone was collected from strata of the Gething Formation (Aptian, Lower Cretaceous) in the Peace River Canyon of northeastern British Columbia, Canada. More than 200 footprints between 2.0 and 4.4 cm in length were found on a single bedding plane within the slab. These were made by a minimum of four individuals that apparently were feeding. The footprints have an average divarication of 113° and a correlated width to length ratio of 1.26, which fall within the range encountered in birds. Divarication between digits II and IV in even the smallest dinosaurs never exceeds 100° on an average per trackway. Other characteristics support the identification of these tracks from the Peace River Canyon as having been made by birds. The new genus and species, Aquatilavipes swiboldae, is the earliest known record of bird footprints, and probably represents a primitive taxon of marsh-dwelling bird.

@article{doi10108002724634198110011900,
    author = "Currie, Philip J.",
    title = "Bird footprints from the Gething Formation (Aptian, Lower Cretaceous) of northeastern British Columbia, Canada",
    year = "1981",
    journal = "Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology",
    abstract = "ABSTRACT A large slab of arenaceous siltstone was collected from strata of the Gething Formation (Aptian, Lower Cretaceous) in the Peace River Canyon of northeastern British Columbia, Canada. More than 200 footprints between 2.0 and 4.4 cm in length were found on a single bedding plane within the slab. These were made by a minimum of four individuals that apparently were feeding. The footprints have an average divarication of 113° and a correlated width to length ratio of 1.26, which fall within the range encountered in birds. Divarication between digits II and IV in even the smallest dinosaurs never exceeds 100° on an average per trackway. Other characteristics support the identification of these tracks from the Peace River Canyon as having been made by birds. The new genus and species, Aquatilavipes swiboldae, is the earliest known record of bird footprints, and probably represents a primitive taxon of marsh-dwelling bird.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.1981.10011900",
    doi = "10.1080/02724634.1981.10011900",
    openalex = "W2068872705",
    references = "doi101007978364265923214, doi1010160031018279901147, doi101038261129a0, doi10108001584197196611797177, doi1011639789004631793, doi102475ajss521125441, doi104095105049, doi105281zenodo16246150, openalexw2069202983, openalexw23418293, openalexw3146596760"
}

@misc{godfrey1981an8,
    author = "Godfrey, L. R",
    title = "An analysis of the creationist film, Footprints in Stone",
    year = "1981",
    howpublished = "Creation/Evolution, v. 2, p. 23-30",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Godfrey, L. R., 1981, An analysis of the creationist film, Footprints in Stone : Creation/Evolution, v. 2, p. 23-30.}"
}

@article{milne1983dinosaur,
    author = "Milne, David H. and Schafersman, Steven D.",
    title = "Dinosaur Tracks, Erosion Marks and Midnight Chisel Work (But No Human Footprints) In the Cretaceous Limestone of the Paluxy River Bed, Texas",
    year = "1983",
    journal = "Journal of Geological Education",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.5408/0022-1368-31.2.111",
    doi = "10.5408/0022-1368-31.2.111",
    number = "2",
    openalex = "W207046123",
    pages = "111-123",
    volume = "31"
}

@misc{cole1985mantracks2,
    author = "Cole, J. R. and Godfrey, L. R. and Schafersman, S. D",
    title = "Mantracks? The fossils say No!",
    year = "1985",
    howpublished = "Creation/Evolution, v. 5, p. 37-45",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Cole, J. R., Godfrey, L. R., and Schafersman, S. D., 1985, Mantracks? The fossils say No! : Creation/Evolution, v. 5, p. 37-45.}"
}

@misc{cole1985the3,
    author = "Cole, J. R. and Godfrey, L. R. [E",
    title = "The Paluxy River footprint mystery-- solved",
    year = "1985",
    howpublished = "Creation/Evolution, v. 5, p. 1-56",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Cole, J. R., and Godfrey, L. R. [E., 1985, The Paluxy River footprint mystery-- solved: Creation/Evolution, v. 5, p. 1-56.}"
}

@misc{godfrey1985foot9,
    author = "Godfrey, L. R",
    title = "Foot Notes of an Anatomist",
    year = "1985",
    howpublished = "Creation/Evolution, v. 5, p. 16-36; in Cole, JR and Godfrey, LR, eds., (1985) The Paluxy River Footprint Mystery- Solved. Creation/Evolution 5 (Special Issue)",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Godfrey, L. R., 1985, Foot Notes of an Anatomist: Creation/Evolution, v. 5, p. 16-36; in Cole, JR and Godfrey, LR, eds., (1985) The Paluxy River Footprint Mystery- Solved. Creation/Evolution 5 (Special Issue).}"
}

@misc{hastings1985tracking10,
    author = "Hastings, R. J",
    title = "Tracking Those Incredible Creationists, in Cole, J. R., and Godfrey, L. R., eds., The Paluxy River Footprint Mystery-Solved",
    year = "1985",
    howpublished = "p. 5-15; Special Issue. Creation/Evolution 15",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Hastings, R. J., 1985, Tracking Those Incredible Creationists, in Cole, J. R., and Godfrey, L. R., eds., The Paluxy River Footprint Mystery-Solved: p. 5-15; Special Issue. Creation/Evolution 15.}"
}

@article{openalexw151338792,
    author = "Cole, John R. and Godfrey, Laurie R.",
    title = "The Paluxy River Footprint Mystery--Solved.",
    year = "1985",
    openalex = "W151338792"
}

@article{s2bccc2cdb063c07fa517f351c6ac5a11be2d6eee4,
    author = "Cole, J. R. and Godfrey, L.",
    title = "The Paluxy River Footprint Mystery--Solved.",
    year = "1985",
    url = "https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/bccc2cdb063c07fa517f351c6ac5a11be2d6eee4",
    is_oa = "true",
    openalex = "W151338792",
    semanticscholar_citation_count = "8",
    semanticscholar_id = "bccc2cdb063c07fa517f351c6ac5a11be2d6eee4"
}

@misc{association1986footprints7,
    author = "for Christ Association, Films",
    title = "Footprints in stone",
    year = "1986",
    howpublished = {The current situation: Origins Research, v. 9, no. 1, p. 15; ("Footprints in stone": Creationist 'Mantracks' Film)},
    note = {talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Films for Christ Association, 1986, Footprints in stone: The current situation: Origins Research, v. 9, no. 1, p. 15; ("Footprints in stone": Creationist 'Mantracks' Film).}}
}

@misc{hastings1986tracking11,
    author = "Hastings, R. J",
    title = "Tracking those incredible creationists--the trail continues",
    year = "1986",
    howpublished = "Creation/Evolution, v. 5, p. 5-15",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Hastings, R. J., 1986, Tracking those incredible creationists--the trail continues: Creation/Evolution, v. 5, p. 5-15.}"
}

@article{jukes1986the,
    author = "JUKES, THOMAS H.",
    title = "The Paluxy River mystery",
    year = "1986",
    journal = "Nature",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1038/321722b0",
    doi = "10.1038/321722b0",
    number = "6072",
    openalex = "W2076131377",
    pages = "722-722",
    volume = "321",
    references = "doi101038308390a0"
}

@misc{kuban1986a14,
    author = "Kuban, G. J",
    title = "A Summary of the Taylor Site Evidence",
    year = "1986",
    howpublished = "Creation/Evolution, v. 6, no. 1, XVII, p. 10-18",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Kuban, G. J., 1986, A Summary of the Taylor Site Evidence: Creation/Evolution, v. 6, no. 1, XVII, p. 10-18.}"
}

@article{kuban1986review16,
    author = "Kuban, G. J",
    title = "Review of ICR Impact article 151",
    year = "1986",
    journal = "Origins Research, v. 9, no. 1, p. 10-15",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Kuban, G. J., 1986, Review of ICR Impact article 151: Origins Research, v. 9, no. 1, p. 10-15.}"
}

@misc{kuban1986the15,
    author = "Kuban, G. J",
    title = {The Taylor Site "man tracks},
    year = "1986",
    howpublished = "Origins Research, v. 9, no. 1, p. 7-9",
    note = {talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Kuban, G. J., 1986, The Taylor Site "man tracks": Origins Research, v. 9, no. 1, p. 7-9.}}
}

@misc{morris1986follow23,
    author = "Morris, J. D",
    title = "Follow up on the Paluxy mystery",
    year = "1986",
    howpublished = "Origins Research, v. 9, no. 1, p. 14",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Morris, J. D., 1986, Follow up on the Paluxy mystery: Origins Research, v. 9, no. 1, p. 14.}"
}

@article{morris1986the,
    author = "MORRIS, JOHN D.",
    title = "The Paluxy River mystery",
    year = "1986",
    journal = "Nature",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1038/321722a0",
    doi = "10.1038/321722a0",
    number = "6072",
    openalex = "W2058819714",
    pages = "722-722",
    volume = "321"
}

@misc{morris1986the21,
    author = "Morris, J. D",
    title = "The Paluxy River mystery",
    year = "1986",
    howpublished = "ICR Impact Series, v. 151, p. i-iv",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Morris, J. D., 1986, The Paluxy River mystery: ICR Impact Series, v. 151, p. i-iv.}"
}

@misc{morris1986the22,
    author = "Morris, J. D",
    title = "The Paluxy River mystery. Letter in",
    year = "1986",
    howpublished = "Nature, v. 321, p. 722",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Morris, J. D., 1986, The Paluxy River mystery. Letter in: Nature, v. 321, p. 722.}"
}

@article{stokes1986alleged25,
    author = "Stokes, W. L",
    title = "Alleged human footprint from Middle Cambrian strata, Milford County, Utah",
    year = "1986",
    journal = "Journal of Geological Education, v. 34, p. 187-190",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Stokes, W. L., 1986, Alleged human footprint from Middle Cambrian strata, Milford County, Utah: Journal of Geological Education, v. 34, p. 187-190.}"
}

@article{doi101525aa198789102a00810,
    author = "Scott, E.",
    title = "The Paluxy River Footprint Mystery—Solved. John R. Cole and Laurie R. Godfrey, eds",
    year = "1987",
    journal = "American Anthropologist",
    url = "https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1525/aa.1987.89.1.02a00810",
    doi = "10.1525/AA.1987.89.1.02A00810",
    is_oa = "true",
    number = "1",
    pages = "215-216",
    semanticscholar_id = "5d080b197dfcaf98655695a1d484226fc84ef348",
    volume = "89"
}

@book{farlow1987a6,
    author = "Farlow, J. O",
    title = "A Guide to the Lower Cretaceous Dinosaur Footprints and Trackways of the Paluxy River Valley, Somervell County, Texas",
    year = "1987",
    publisher = "Waco, Texas, Baylor University Press",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Farlow, J. O., 1987, A Guide to the Lower Cretaceous Dinosaur Footprints and Trackways of the Paluxy River Valley, Somervell County, Texas: Waco, Texas, Baylor University Press.}"
}

@article{hastings1987new,
    author = "Hastings, Ronnie Jack",
    title = "New Observations on Paluxy Tracks Confirm Their Dinosaurian Origin",
    year = "1987",
    journal = "Journal of Geological Education",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.5408/0022-1368-35.1.4",
    doi = "10.5408/0022-1368-35.1.4",
    number = "1",
    openalex = "W2509623314",
    pages = "4-15",
    volume = "35"
}

@article{hastings1987new12,
    author = "Hastings, R. J",
    title = "New observations on Paluxy tracks confirm their dinosaurian origin",
    year = "1987",
    journal = "Journal of Geological Education, v. 35, p. 4-15",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Hastings, R. J., 1987, New observations on Paluxy tracks confirm their dinosaurian origin: Journal of Geological Education, v. 35, p. 4-15.}"
}

@misc{kuban1987the17,
    author = "Kuban, G. J",
    title = {The Texas "Mantrack" Controversy},
    year = "1987",
    howpublished = "[Privately published monograph. P.O. Box 33232, North Royalton, Ohio. 44113]",
    note = {talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Kuban, G. J., 1987, The Texas "Mantrack" Controversy. [Privately published monograph. P.O. Box 33232, North Royalton, Ohio. 44113].}}
}

@article{monroe1987creationism18,
    author = "Monroe, J. S",
    title = "Creationism, human footprints, and flood geology",
    year = "1987",
    journal = "Journal of Geological Education, v. 35, p. 93-103",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Monroe, J. S., 1987, Creationism, human footprints, and flood geology: Journal of Geological Education, v. 35, p. 93-103.}"
}

@article{scott1987the,
    author = "Scott, Eugenie C.",
    title = "The Paluxy River Footprint Mystery—Solved. John R. Cole and Laurie R. Godfrey, eds",
    year = "1987",
    journal = "American Anthropologist",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1987.89.1.02a00810",
    doi = "10.1525/aa.1987.89.1.02a00810",
    number = "1",
    openalex = "W1939578035",
    pages = "215-216",
    volume = "89"
}

@article{lockley1988james,
    author = "Lockley, Martin G.",
    title = "James O. Farlow: A Guide to Lower Cretaceous Dinosaur Footprints and Tracksites of Paluxy River Valley, Somervell County, Texas",
    year = "1988",
    journal = "Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.1988.10011689",
    doi = "10.1080/02724634.1988.10011689",
    number = "1",
    openalex = "W2044859162",
    pages = "110-112",
    volume = "8",
    references = "doi1010160031018272900491, doi101017s0094837300008782, doi101038229172a0, doi101130001676061986971163naldts20co2, doi1023072424244, doi1023073514457, doi104095105049, openalexw1504554173, openalexw2618301958"
}

@misc{hastings1989creationists13,
    author = "Hastings, R. J",
    title = "Creationists' 'Glen Rose Man' Proves to be a Fish Tooth (as Expected)",
    year = "1989",
    howpublished = "National Council on Science Education Reports, v. 9, no. 3, p. 14-15",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Hastings, R. J., 1989, Creationists' 'Glen Rose Man' Proves to be a Fish Tooth (as Expected): National Council on Science Education Reports, v. 9, no. 3, p. 14-15.}"
}

For dinosaur lovers and tourists alike, this guide explores the palaeontological treasure trove of the western United States. Concentrating on the rich fossil life of the Colorado Plateau region - including parts of Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico - it gives readers the story behind a track record which extends some 300 million years back in time. Readers learn about America's prehistory as they explore a region with one of the best track records of land animals found anywhere in the world. An appendix lists museums and other major repositories of tracks and replicas, and gives details on tracksites open to the public. Lockley leads his readers to the footprints themselves, and shows fossil explorers how these traces can help to interpret the behaviour of dinosaurs.

@article{doi105860choice332752,
    author = "Lockley, Martin G. and Hunt, Adrian P.",
    title = "Dinosaur tracks and other fossil footprints of the western United States",
    year = "1996",
    journal = "Choice Reviews Online",
    abstract = "For dinosaur lovers and tourists alike, this guide explores the palaeontological treasure trove of the western United States. Concentrating on the rich fossil life of the Colorado Plateau region - including parts of Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico - it gives readers the story behind a track record which extends some 300 million years back in time. Readers learn about America's prehistory as they explore a region with one of the best track records of land animals found anywhere in the world. An appendix lists museums and other major repositories of tracks and replicas, and gives details on tracksites open to the public. Lockley leads his readers to the footprints themselves, and shows fossil explorers how these traces can help to interpret the behaviour of dinosaurs.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.33-2752",
    doi = "10.5860/choice.33-2752",
    openalex = "W1570663375",
    references = "doi1011300091761319910191201fvfitc23co2, openalexw3093435588, openalexw603337959"
}

The ichnospecies Bueckeburgichnus maximus (Kuhn 1958) is amended and illustrated on the basis of type and topotype material, from the Lower Cretaceous of Germany, showing that previous illustrations were morphologically incorrect and misleading. The track is unequivocally that of a large functionally tridactyl theropod, but can not confidently be attributed to a megalosaurid dinosaur, as suggested by ichnological tradition. Bueckeburgichnus has been compared with theropod tracks from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal labeled as Eutynichnium, Megalosaurus, Megalosauripus and Megalosauropus, but the comparisons are tenuous and compromised by invalid ichnotaxonomic treatment of all four ichnogenera. Megalosaurus must be abandoned as an ichnotaxonomic descriptor. The status of Megalosauripus, Megalosauropus and Eutynichnium is under further investigation but preliminary results suggest that Bueckeburgichnus maximus is distinct from any ichnospecies assigned to these two ichnogenera.

@article{doi10108010420940009380161,
    author = "Lockley, Martin G.",
    title = "An amended description of the theropod footprint Bueckeburgichnus maximus Kuhn 1958, and its bearing on the megalosaur tracks debate",
    year = "2000",
    journal = "Ichnos/Ichnos : an international journal for plant and animal traces",
    abstract = "The ichnospecies Bueckeburgichnus maximus (Kuhn 1958) is amended and illustrated on the basis of type and topotype material, from the Lower Cretaceous of Germany, showing that previous illustrations were morphologically incorrect and misleading. The track is unequivocally that of a large functionally tridactyl theropod, but can not confidently be attributed to a megalosaurid dinosaur, as suggested by ichnological tradition. Bueckeburgichnus has been compared with theropod tracks from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal labeled as Eutynichnium, Megalosaurus, Megalosauripus and Megalosauropus, but the comparisons are tenuous and compromised by invalid ichnotaxonomic treatment of all four ichnogenera. Megalosaurus must be abandoned as an ichnotaxonomic descriptor. The status of Megalosauripus, Megalosauropus and Eutynichnium is under further investigation but preliminary results suggest that Bueckeburgichnus maximus is distinct from any ichnospecies assigned to these two ichnogenera.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1080/10420940009380161",
    doi = "10.1080/10420940009380161",
    openalex = "W2068508895",
    references = "doi101038323390a0"
}

@misc{crossref2006paluxy,
    title = "Paluxy Footprints",
    year = "2006",
    booktitle = "Encyclopedia of Anthropology",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412952453.n689",
    doi = "10.4135/9781412952453.n689",
    openalex = "W4241372493"
}

Dinosaur tracks and trackways yield invaluable information as to the identity, size, and gait of the trackmaker and the conditions of the media (‫؍‬substrate) it traversed.Correctly interpreting tracks requires consideration of their three-dimensional morphology.Laboratory-controlled simulations were conducted to investigate the subsurface track morphology formed from differently shaped feet, as the shape of the footprint deteriorates with depth.A circular, triangular, and a tridactyl dinosaur foot-shaped template, or indenter, were indented vertically into two types of sand, with four moisture contents-dry, 10%, 20%, and saturated.The morphology of all three indenters was preserved most accurately in the moist sand.Tracks in dry and saturated sand were distorted by a greater degree of media deformation.Digit imprints of tridactyl tracks were only clearly discernible in near-surface layers and were deformed by shear zones or inward movement of sediment in dry and saturated sand.The long digits of the template produced the greatest degree of outward displacement, and tracks became wider with depth and deepest in the heel region.This was most distinct in dry sand, where extensive shear zones in cross section demonstrated the outward and upward movement of sediment.All tracks in saturated sand were characterized by considerable downward displacement of sediment and features related to the upward pull of sediment as the templates were withdrawn.These diagnostic features allow vertebrate tracks to be differentiated from nonbiogenic, soft-sediment deformation.Fossil tracks studied from the Middle Jurassic succession of the Cleveland Basin, Yorkshire, demonstrate affinities to the experimental tracks formed in saturated sand.

@article{doi102110palo2007p07070r,
    author = "Jackson, Stephen and Whyte, M. A. and Romano, M.",
    title = "LABORATORY-CONTROLLED SIMULATIONS OF DINOSAUR FOOTPRINTS IN SAND: A KEY TO UNDERSTANDING VERTEBRATE TRACK FORMATION AND PRESERVATION",
    year = "2009",
    journal = "Palaios",
    abstract = "Dinosaur tracks and trackways yield invaluable information as to the identity, size, and gait of the trackmaker and the conditions of the media (‫؍‬substrate) it traversed.Correctly interpreting tracks requires consideration of their three-dimensional morphology.Laboratory-controlled simulations were conducted to investigate the subsurface track morphology formed from differently shaped feet, as the shape of the footprint deteriorates with depth.A circular, triangular, and a tridactyl dinosaur foot-shaped template, or indenter, were indented vertically into two types of sand, with four moisture contents-dry, 10\%, 20\%, and saturated.The morphology of all three indenters was preserved most accurately in the moist sand.Tracks in dry and saturated sand were distorted by a greater degree of media deformation.Digit imprints of tridactyl tracks were only clearly discernible in near-surface layers and were deformed by shear zones or inward movement of sediment in dry and saturated sand.The long digits of the template produced the greatest degree of outward displacement, and tracks became wider with depth and deepest in the heel region.This was most distinct in dry sand, where extensive shear zones in cross section demonstrated the outward and upward movement of sediment.All tracks in saturated sand were characterized by considerable downward displacement of sediment and features related to the upward pull of sediment as the templates were withdrawn.These diagnostic features allow vertebrate tracks to be differentiated from nonbiogenic, soft-sediment deformation.Fossil tracks studied from the Middle Jurassic succession of the Cleveland Basin, Yorkshire, demonstrate affinities to the experimental tracks formed in saturated sand.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.2110/palo.2007.p07-070r",
    doi = "10.2110/palo.2007.p07-070r",
    openalex = "W2089482175",
    references = "doi101016jpalaeo200412022, doi101016s001678780180047x, doi10103820167, doi101098rstb19970035, doi101111j146979981991tb04794x, doi101144gslsp20042280106, doi101144pygs543185, doi1023073514457, doi1023073514816, doi105860choice273305, doi105860choice393984, openalexw2764433274"
}

The laboratory-controlled simulations of dinosaur footprints in this study revealed characteristic track features that could be used to identify the consistency of sand substrates and provide an insight into the paleoenvironment. A model foot of Hypsilophodon foxii was indented into three sands of four different moisture (= water) contents. The two intermediate moist states were characterized by shallow tridactyl impressions, in which only digits II–IV were impressed, showing details of padding and claws. Where the foot penetrated more deeply, in the dry and saturated states, the hallux and heel were also impressed; in these cases, the foot detail was not preserved accurately and track morphology deviated significantly from that of the foot. Dry sand tracks were characterized by the outward and upward movement of sediment and tracks in saturated sand by mainly downward displacement. The finer-grained saturated sand was also associated with liquefaction and closure of digit imprints. Tracks from the Middle Jurassic Cleveland Basin of Yorkshire showed features of the saturated state. The range of experimental track morphotypes formed by one foot highlighted the difficulties in assigning a print type to a particular trackmaker and the importance of excluding preservational variants from ichnotaxonomic studies.

@article{doi101080104209402010510026,
    author = "Jackson, Simon J. and Whyte, M. A. and Romano, Mike",
    title = "Range of Experimental Dinosaur (Hypsilophodon foxii) Footprints Due to Variation in Sand Consistency: How Wet Was the Track?",
    year = "2010",
    journal = "Ichnos/Ichnos : an international journal for plant and animal traces",
    abstract = "The laboratory-controlled simulations of dinosaur footprints in this study revealed characteristic track features that could be used to identify the consistency of sand substrates and provide an insight into the paleoenvironment. A model foot of Hypsilophodon foxii was indented into three sands of four different moisture (= water) contents. The two intermediate moist states were characterized by shallow tridactyl impressions, in which only digits II–IV were impressed, showing details of padding and claws. Where the foot penetrated more deeply, in the dry and saturated states, the hallux and heel were also impressed; in these cases, the foot detail was not preserved accurately and track morphology deviated significantly from that of the foot. Dry sand tracks were characterized by the outward and upward movement of sediment and tracks in saturated sand by mainly downward displacement. The finer-grained saturated sand was also associated with liquefaction and closure of digit imprints. Tracks from the Middle Jurassic Cleveland Basin of Yorkshire showed features of the saturated state. The range of experimental track morphotypes formed by one foot highlighted the difficulties in assigning a print type to a particular trackmaker and the importance of excluding preservational variants from ichnotaxonomic studies.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1080/10420940.2010.510026",
    doi = "10.1080/10420940.2010.510026",
    openalex = "W2007103212",
    references = "doi10108010420940109380189, doi102110palo2007p07070r, doi1023073514457"
}

@article{doi101080104209402011552580,
    author = "Lockley, M.",
    title = "Dinosaur Highways",
    year = "2011",
    journal = "Ichnos",
    url = "https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/f6517d604a3d22a55a45c8c01eba34b780fef57b",
    doi = "10.1080/10420940.2011.552580",
    is_oa = "true",
    number = "1",
    pages = "41-46",
    semanticscholar_id = "f6517d604a3d22a55a45c8c01eba34b780fef57b",
    volume = "18"
}

In 1940 R.T. Bird of the American Museum of Natural History collected segments of a sauropod and a theropod trackway from a site in the bed (Glen Rose Formation; Lower Cretaceous) of the Paluxy River, in what is now Dinosaur Valley State Park (Glen Rose, Texas, USA). However, Bird left undocumented thousands of other dinosaur footprints from this and other Paluxy tracksites. In 2008 and 2009 our international team carried out fieldwork to create detailed photomosaics of extant Paluxy tracksites, using GIS technology to combine these with historic maps and photographs. We also made photographs, tracings, LiDAR images, and measurements of individual footprints and trackways. Paluxy dinosaur tracksites occur in more than one tracklayer, but the largest and most spectacular footprints occur in the Main Tracklayer, a 20-30 cm thick, homogeneous dolomudstone that is thickly riddled with vertical invertebrate burrows (Skolithos). There are two dinosaur footprint morphotypes in the Main Tracklayer: spectacular sauropod trackways (Brontopodus) and the far more numerous tridactyl footprints, most or all of which were made by large theropods (possible ornithopod prints occur in a tracklayer stratigraphically higher than the Main Tracklayer). Tridactyl footprints are highly variable in quality; Paluxy tracksites collectively constitute a natural laboratory for investigating how trackmaker-substrate interactions create extensive extramorphological variability from a single foot morphology. Trackways of bipedal dinosaurs show a “mirror-image” distribution, suggesting movement of animals back and forth along a shoreline. In contrast, most sauropod trackways head in roughly the same direction, suggesting passage of a group of dinosaurs. The trackways collected by R.T. Bird suggest that at least one theropod was following a sauropod.

@article{openalexw1592791648,
    author = "Farlow, James O. and O’Brien, Mike and Kuban, Glenn J. and Dattilo, Benjamin F. and Bates, Karl T. and Falkingham, Peter and Piñuela, Laura and Rose, Amanda and Freels, A. and Kumagai, Cory J. and Libben, Courtney and Smith, Justin E. H. and Whitcraft, James",
    title = "Dinosaur Tracksites of the Paluxy River Valley (Glen Rose Formation, Lower Cretaceous), Dinosaur Valley State Park, Somervell County, Texas.",
    year = "2012",
    journal = "Opus: Research \& Creativity (Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne)",
    abstract = "In 1940 R.T. Bird of the American Museum of Natural History collected segments of a sauropod and a theropod trackway from a site in the bed (Glen Rose Formation; Lower Cretaceous) of the Paluxy River, in what is now Dinosaur Valley State Park (Glen Rose, Texas, USA). However, Bird left undocumented thousands of other dinosaur footprints from this and other Paluxy tracksites. In 2008 and 2009 our international team carried out fieldwork to create detailed photomosaics of extant Paluxy tracksites, using GIS technology to combine these with historic maps and photographs. We also made photographs, tracings, LiDAR images, and measurements of individual footprints and trackways. Paluxy dinosaur tracksites occur in more than one tracklayer, but the largest and most spectacular footprints occur in the Main Tracklayer, a 20-30 cm thick, homogeneous dolomudstone that is thickly riddled with vertical invertebrate burrows (Skolithos). There are two dinosaur footprint morphotypes in the Main Tracklayer: spectacular sauropod trackways (Brontopodus) and the far more numerous tridactyl footprints, most or all of which were made by large theropods (possible ornithopod prints occur in a tracklayer stratigraphically higher than the Main Tracklayer). Tridactyl footprints are highly variable in quality; Paluxy tracksites collectively constitute a natural laboratory for investigating how trackmaker-substrate interactions create extensive extramorphological variability from a single foot morphology. Trackways of bipedal dinosaurs show a “mirror-image” distribution, suggesting movement of animals back and forth along a shoreline. In contrast, most sauropod trackways head in roughly the same direction, suggesting passage of a group of dinosaurs. The trackways collected by R.T. Bird suggest that at least one theropod was following a sauropod.",
    openalex = "W1592791648",
    references = "doi1010160025322767900515, doi101017s0094837300026543, doi10108002724634199810011086, doi10108010420940601006826, doi1023073514816, doi105281zenodo4664674, doi105860choice332752, hastings1987new, milne1983dinosaur, openalexw114509570, openalexw151338792, openalexw2596117615, openalexw2617990244, openalexw603337959"
}

Locomotion over deformable substrates is a common occurrence in nature. Footprints represent sedimentary distortions that provide anatomical, functional, and behavioral insights into trackmaker biology. The interpretation of such evidence can be challenging, however, particularly for fossil tracks recovered at bedding planes below the originally exposed surface. Even in living animals, the complex dynamics that give rise to footprint morphology are obscured by both foot and sediment opacity, which conceals animal-substrate and substrate-substrate interactions. We used X-ray reconstruction of moving morphology (XROMM) to image and animate the hind limb skeleton of a chicken-like bird traversing a dry, granular material. Foot movement differed significantly from walking on solid ground; the longest toe penetrated to a depth of ∼5 cm, reaching an angle of 30° below horizontal before slipping backward on withdrawal. The 3D kinematic data were integrated into a validated substrate simulation using the discrete element method (DEM) to create a quantitative model of limb-induced substrate deformation. Simulation revealed that despite sediment collapse yielding poor quality tracks at the air-substrate interface, subsurface displacements maintain a high level of organization owing to grain-grain support. Splitting the substrate volume along "virtual bedding planes" exposed prints that more closely resembled the foot and could easily be mistaken for shallow tracks. DEM data elucidate how highly localized deformations associated with foot entry and exit generate specific features in the final tracks, a temporal sequence that we term "track ontogeny." This combination of methodologies fosters a synthesis between the surface/layer-based perspective prevalent in paleontology and the particle/volume-based perspective essential for a mechanistic understanding of sediment redistribution during track formation.

@article{doi101073pnas1416252111,
    author = "Falkingham, Peter and Gatesy, Stephen M.",
    title = "The birth of a dinosaur footprint: Subsurface 3D motion reconstruction and discrete element simulation reveal track ontogeny",
    year = "2014",
    journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences",
    abstract = {Locomotion over deformable substrates is a common occurrence in nature. Footprints represent sedimentary distortions that provide anatomical, functional, and behavioral insights into trackmaker biology. The interpretation of such evidence can be challenging, however, particularly for fossil tracks recovered at bedding planes below the originally exposed surface. Even in living animals, the complex dynamics that give rise to footprint morphology are obscured by both foot and sediment opacity, which conceals animal-substrate and substrate-substrate interactions. We used X-ray reconstruction of moving morphology (XROMM) to image and animate the hind limb skeleton of a chicken-like bird traversing a dry, granular material. Foot movement differed significantly from walking on solid ground; the longest toe penetrated to a depth of ∼5 cm, reaching an angle of 30° below horizontal before slipping backward on withdrawal. The 3D kinematic data were integrated into a validated substrate simulation using the discrete element method (DEM) to create a quantitative model of limb-induced substrate deformation. Simulation revealed that despite sediment collapse yielding poor quality tracks at the air-substrate interface, subsurface displacements maintain a high level of organization owing to grain-grain support. Splitting the substrate volume along "virtual bedding planes" exposed prints that more closely resembled the foot and could easily be mistaken for shallow tracks. DEM data elucidate how highly localized deformations associated with foot entry and exit generate specific features in the final tracks, a temporal sequence that we term "track ontogeny." This combination of methodologies fosters a synthesis between the surface/layer-based perspective prevalent in paleontology and the particle/volume-based perspective essential for a mechanistic understanding of sediment redistribution during track formation.},
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1416252111",
    doi = "10.1073/pnas.1416252111",
    openalex = "W1964452431",
    references = "doi101002jez589, doi1010079789400904095, doi101016s0031018296001423, doi10103820167, doi10108809650393181015012, doi101111j14691795200600044x, doi101111jzo12110, doi101126science1229163, doi101144gslsp20042280106, doi101504pcfd2012047457, doi1023071445147, doi1023072412825, doi1023073514816, lockley1988james, openalexw1592791648, openalexw2506868775"
}

It is inevitable that some important specimens will become lost or damaged over time, conservation is therefore of vital importance. The Paluxy River dinosaur tracksite is among the most famous in the world. In 1940, Roland T. Bird described and excavated a portion of the site containing associated theropod and sauropod trackways. This excavated trackway was split up and housed in different institutions, and during the process a portion was lost or destroyed. We applied photogrammetric techniques to photographs taken by Bird over 70 years ago, before the trackway was removed, to digitally reconstruct the site as it was prior to excavation. The 3D digital model offers the opportunity to corroborate maps drawn by R.T. Bird when the tracksite was first described. More broadly, this work demonstrates the exciting potential for digitally recreating palaeontological, geological, or archaeological specimens that have been lost to science, but for which photographic documentation exists.

@article{doi101371journalpone0093247,
    author = "Falkingham, Peter and Bates, Karl T. and Farlow, James O.",
    title = "Historical Photogrammetry: Bird's Paluxy River Dinosaur Chase Sequence Digitally Reconstructed as It Was prior to Excavation 70 Years Ago",
    year = "2014",
    journal = "PLoS ONE",
    abstract = "It is inevitable that some important specimens will become lost or damaged over time, conservation is therefore of vital importance. The Paluxy River dinosaur tracksite is among the most famous in the world. In 1940, Roland T. Bird described and excavated a portion of the site containing associated theropod and sauropod trackways. This excavated trackway was split up and housed in different institutions, and during the process a portion was lost or destroyed. We applied photogrammetric techniques to photographs taken by Bird over 70 years ago, before the trackway was removed, to digitally reconstruct the site as it was prior to excavation. The 3D digital model offers the opportunity to corroborate maps drawn by R.T. Bird when the tracksite was first described. More broadly, this work demonstrates the exciting potential for digitally recreating palaeontological, geological, or archaeological specimens that have been lost to science, but for which photographic documentation exists.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0093247",
    doi = "10.1371/journal.pone.0093247",
    openalex = "W2095708090",
    references = "openalexw1592791648"
}

The alleged “man tracks” beside dinosaur tracks near Glen Rose, Texas, are among the most enduring pieces of evidence used by young-Earth creationists to reject evolution. Despite the tracks’ fame, their most persistent advocate – that is, Carl Baugh of the Creation Evidence Museum – has published neither (1) peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals about the tracks nor (2) clear, convincing, unenhanced photographs of unaltered tracks taken during an excavation. I participated in an excavation sponsored by Baugh’s Creation Evidence Museum that uncovered three “man tracks” that Baugh and his assistants verified as being made by humans. These “tracks” are presented here and are among the first clear, unenhanced photographs of freshly uncovered “man tracks” taken during a Baugh-led excavation. They look no different than any of the countless other scuffs, cracks, and erosion marks in the area.

@article{moore2014did,
    author = "Moore, Randy",
    title = "Did Humans Live with Dinosaurs? Excavating “Man Tracks” along the Paluxy River",
    year = "2014",
    journal = "The American Biology Teacher",
    abstract = "The alleged “man tracks” beside dinosaur tracks near Glen Rose, Texas, are among the most enduring pieces of evidence used by young-Earth creationists to reject evolution. Despite the tracks’ fame, their most persistent advocate – that is, Carl Baugh of the Creation Evidence Museum – has published neither (1) peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals about the tracks nor (2) clear, convincing, unenhanced photographs of unaltered tracks taken during an excavation. I participated in an excavation sponsored by Baugh’s Creation Evidence Museum that uncovered three “man tracks” that Baugh and his assistants verified as being made by humans. These “tracks” are presented here and are among the first clear, unenhanced photographs of freshly uncovered “man tracks” taken during a Baugh-led excavation. They look no different than any of the countless other scuffs, cracks, and erosion marks in the area.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2014.76.4.5",
    doi = "10.1525/abt.2014.76.4.5",
    number = "4",
    pages = "243-246",
    volume = "76"
}

@article{doi105406amerlitereal4820166,
    author = "Takeuchi, Y.",
    title = "Tracking Twain: The Unfulfilled Pursuit in Mark Twain’s Detective Fiction",
    year = "2015",
    journal = "American Literary Realism",
    url = "https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/c66c03c882ddeef7f28e77c4e70d4648494df6da",
    doi = "10.5406/AMERLITEREAL.48.2.0166",
    is_oa = "true",
    number = "2",
    pages = "166-182",
    semanticscholar_citation_count = "1",
    semanticscholar_id = "c66c03c882ddeef7f28e77c4e70d4648494df6da",
    volume = "48"
}

@article{s296c6ef5327a1ed8f8089a5a8b61199463c42271a,
    author = "Farlow, J. and Bates, K. and Bonem, R. M. and Dattilo, Benjamin F. and Falkingham, P. and Gildner, R. F. and Jacene, Jerry and Kuban, Glenn J. and Martin, Anthony J. and O'Brien, Mike and Whitcraft, J.",
    title = "Stop 2: Dinosaur Footprints from the Glen Rose Formation (Paluxy River, Dinosaur Valley State Park, Somervell County, Texas)",
    year = "2015",
    url = "https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/96c6ef5327a1ed8f8089a5a8b61199463c42271a",
    is_oa = "true",
    semanticscholar_citation_count = "12",
    semanticscholar_id = "96c6ef5327a1ed8f8089a5a8b61199463c42271a"
}

Footprint morphology (e.g., outline shape, depth of impression) is one of the key diagnostic features used in the interpretation of ancient vertebrate tracks. Over 80 tridactyl tracks, confined to the same bedding surface in the Lower Jurassic Elliot Formation at Mafube (eastern Free State, South Africa), show large shape variability over the length of the study site. These morphological differences are considered here to be mainly due to variations in the substrate rheology as opposed to differences in the trackmaker's foot anatomy, foot kinematics or recent weathering of the bedding surface. The sedimentary structures (e.g., desiccation cracks, ripple marks) preserved in association with and within some of the Mafube tracks suggest that the imprints were produced essentially contemporaneous and are true dinosaur tracks rather than undertracks or erosional remnants. They are therefore valuable not only for the interpretation of the ancient environment (i.e., seasonally dry river channels) but also for taxonomic assessments as some of them closely resemble the original anatomy of the trackmaker's foot. The tracks are grouped, based on size, into two morphotypes that can be identified as Eubrontes-like and Grallator-like ichnogenera. The Mafube morphotypes are tentatively attributable to large and small tridactyl theropod trackmakers, possibly to Dracovenator and Coelophysis based on the following criteria: (a) lack of manus impressions indicative of obligate bipeds; (b) long, slender-digits that are asymmetrical and taper; (c) often end in a claw impression or point; and (d) the tracks that are longer than broad. To enable high-resolution preservation, curation and subsequent remote studying of the morphological variations of and the secondary features in the tracks, low viscosity silicone rubber was used to generate casts of the Mafube tracks.

@article{doi107717peerj2285,
    author = "Sciscio, Lara and Bordy, Emese M. and Reid, Mhairi and Abrahams, Miengah",
    title = "Sedimentology and ichnology of the Mafube dinosaur track site (Lower Jurassic, eastern Free State, South Africa): a report on footprint preservation and palaeoenvironment",
    year = "2016",
    journal = "PeerJ",
    abstract = "Footprint morphology (e.g., outline shape, depth of impression) is one of the key diagnostic features used in the interpretation of ancient vertebrate tracks. Over 80 tridactyl tracks, confined to the same bedding surface in the Lower Jurassic Elliot Formation at Mafube (eastern Free State, South Africa), show large shape variability over the length of the study site. These morphological differences are considered here to be mainly due to variations in the substrate rheology as opposed to differences in the trackmaker's foot anatomy, foot kinematics or recent weathering of the bedding surface. The sedimentary structures (e.g., desiccation cracks, ripple marks) preserved in association with and within some of the Mafube tracks suggest that the imprints were produced essentially contemporaneous and are true dinosaur tracks rather than undertracks or erosional remnants. They are therefore valuable not only for the interpretation of the ancient environment (i.e., seasonally dry river channels) but also for taxonomic assessments as some of them closely resemble the original anatomy of the trackmaker's foot. The tracks are grouped, based on size, into two morphotypes that can be identified as Eubrontes-like and Grallator-like ichnogenera. The Mafube morphotypes are tentatively attributable to large and small tridactyl theropod trackmakers, possibly to Dracovenator and Coelophysis based on the following criteria: (a) lack of manus impressions indicative of obligate bipeds; (b) long, slender-digits that are asymmetrical and taper; (c) often end in a claw impression or point; and (d) the tracks that are longer than broad. To enable high-resolution preservation, curation and subsequent remote studying of the morphological variations of and the secondary features in the tracks, low viscosity silicone rubber was used to generate casts of the Mafube tracks.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2285",
    doi = "10.7717/peerj.2285",
    openalex = "W2516744078",
    references = "doi101016jjsames201206017, doi10297960650, lucas2001theropod"
}

@article{ramesh2018footprints,
    author = "Ramesh, CH",
    title = "Footprints and tracks of marine organisms",
    year = "2018",
    journal = "Journal of Aquaculture \& Marine Biology",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.15406/jamb.2018.07.00188",
    doi = "10.15406/jamb.2018.07.00188",
    number = "2",
    openalex = "W2886348853",
    volume = "7",
    references = "doi101002ajpa22276, doi101007s1022801404285, doi101016jjsames201206017, doi101016jpgeola201707006, doi101038319493a0, doi101444522312803ijcttv39p112, doi103354meps333161, doi103389fevo201500018"
}

Starting with his first report on fossil footprints from the Connecticut Valley over 180 years ago, Edward Hitchcock described what he interpreted as a burgeoning ancient fauna founded on ever-increasing nominal track diversity. For three decades, Hitchcock made countless contributions to ichnology, but his inference of thin-toed animals (Leptodactyli) from thin-toed tracks is flawed by modern criteria. Leptodactylous tracks are now recognized as variants made by thick-toed feet penetrating into soft, collapsing substrates. Herein, we take a closer look at the creation of such penetrative tracks using computer simulations of particle flow. Classic specimens are used to demonstrate how different modes of surface presentation make penetrative tracks challenging to recognize and interpret. Evaluation of 266 specimens from 43 leptodactylous ichnotaxa reveals that ∼90% are penetrative. We propose that a reliance on a single formation mechanism confounded Hitchcock’s ability to reliably recognize different trackmakers. This is not an old problem applicable only to fossils collected long ago; domination of a transmission-based model continues to bias the field today. Most texts and many publications either omit collapsed penetrative tracks or fail to recognize them as a significant source of variation. Without proper regard for subsurface toe movement and sediment flow, inferences of foot shape from track shape can, as for Hitchcock, be led far astray. The misidentification and misunderstanding of penetrative tracks impact our conception of the diversity of life in the Early Jurassic, as well as in other ichnofaunas worldwide.

@article{doi1010800272463420201781142,
    author = "Gatesy, Stephen M. and Falkingham, Peter",
    title = "Hitchcock’s Leptodactyli, Penetrative Tracks, and Dinosaur Footprint Diversity",
    year = "2020",
    journal = "Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology",
    abstract = "Starting with his first report on fossil footprints from the Connecticut Valley over 180 years ago, Edward Hitchcock described what he interpreted as a burgeoning ancient fauna founded on ever-increasing nominal track diversity. For three decades, Hitchcock made countless contributions to ichnology, but his inference of thin-toed animals (Leptodactyli) from thin-toed tracks is flawed by modern criteria. Leptodactylous tracks are now recognized as variants made by thick-toed feet penetrating into soft, collapsing substrates. Herein, we take a closer look at the creation of such penetrative tracks using computer simulations of particle flow. Classic specimens are used to demonstrate how different modes of surface presentation make penetrative tracks challenging to recognize and interpret. Evaluation of 266 specimens from 43 leptodactylous ichnotaxa reveals that ∼90\% are penetrative. We propose that a reliance on a single formation mechanism confounded Hitchcock’s ability to reliably recognize different trackmakers. This is not an old problem applicable only to fossils collected long ago; domination of a transmission-based model continues to bias the field today. Most texts and many publications either omit collapsed penetrative tracks or fail to recognize them as a significant source of variation. Without proper regard for subsurface toe movement and sediment flow, inferences of foot shape from track shape can, as for Hitchcock, be led far astray. The misidentification and misunderstanding of penetrative tracks impact our conception of the diversity of life in the Early Jurassic, as well as in other ichnofaunas worldwide.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2020.1781142",
    doi = "10.1080/02724634.2020.1781142",
    openalex = "W3092060719",
    references = "doi101007978331946487931, doi1010079783540472261, doi1010079789400904095, doi101016s001669958880038x, doi101073pnas1416252111, doi1010800272463420171314298, doi10108809650393181015012, doi101109cvpr2016445, doi101111pala12373, doi101504pcfd2012047457, doi102110palo2007p07070r, doi10230725058147, doi1023073514816, doi1026879529, doi10297960650, doi105962bhltitle20094, doi105962bhltitle70405, lull1915triassic, openalexw1592791648, openalexw2619609965, openalexw384818744, openalexw603337959"
}

Abstract The dinosaur track record features numerous examples of trackways with elongated metatarsal marks. Such ‘elongate tracks’ are often highly variable and characterized by indistinct outlines and abbreviated or missing digit impressions. Elongate dinosaur tracks are well‐known from the Paluxy River bed of Texas, where some have been interpreted as ‘man tracks’ by creationists due to their superficially human‐like appearance. The horizontal orientation of the metatarsal marks led to the now widely accepted idea of a facultative plantigrade, or ‘flat‐footed’, mode of locomotion in a variety of dinosaurian trackmakers small to large. This hypothesis, however, is at odds with the observation that elongate tracks do not indicate reduced locomotion speeds and increased pace angulation values, but instead are correlated with low anatomical fidelity. We here interpret elongate tracks as deep penetrations of the foot in soft sediment. Sediment may collapse above parts of the descending foot, leaving a shallow surface track that preserves a metatarsal mark. The length of a metatarsal mark is determined by multiple factors and is not necessarily correlated with the length of the metatarsus. Other types of posterior marks in dinosaur footprints, such as drag and slip marks, are reviewed.

@article{doi101111pala12584,
    author = "Lallensack, Jens N. and Farlow, James O. and Falkingham, Peter",
    title = "A new solution to an old riddle: elongate dinosaur tracks explained as deep penetration of the foot, not plantigrade locomotion",
    year = "2021",
    journal = "Palaeontology",
    abstract = "Abstract The dinosaur track record features numerous examples of trackways with elongated metatarsal marks. Such ‘elongate tracks’ are often highly variable and characterized by indistinct outlines and abbreviated or missing digit impressions. Elongate dinosaur tracks are well‐known from the Paluxy River bed of Texas, where some have been interpreted as ‘man tracks’ by creationists due to their superficially human‐like appearance. The horizontal orientation of the metatarsal marks led to the now widely accepted idea of a facultative plantigrade, or ‘flat‐footed’, mode of locomotion in a variety of dinosaurian trackmakers small to large. This hypothesis, however, is at odds with the observation that elongate tracks do not indicate reduced locomotion speeds and increased pace angulation values, but instead are correlated with low anatomical fidelity. We here interpret elongate tracks as deep penetrations of the foot in soft sediment. Sediment may collapse above parts of the descending foot, leaving a shallow surface track that preserves a metatarsal mark. The length of a metatarsal mark is determined by multiple factors and is not necessarily correlated with the length of the metatarsus. Other types of posterior marks in dinosaur footprints, such as drag and slip marks, are reviewed.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12584",
    doi = "10.1111/pala.12584",
    openalex = "W4200240294",
    references = "doi1010079789400904095, doi10103820167, doi10108002724634199510011574, doi1010800272463420171314298, doi1010800272463420201781142, doi101080104209402013817405, doi10108010420940601006859, doi101111j146979981983tb02087x, doi101111pala12502, doi101111pala12584, doi101242jeb1051147, doi101371journalpone0004591, doi1023071311183, doi1026879529, doi10297960650, doi105860choice273305, doi105860choice393984, doi107717peerj2059, openalexw114509570, openalexw2618301958, openalexw2619609965"
}