A Review of the Tetrapod Track Record in China,with Special Reference to Type Ichnospecies:Implications for Ichnotaxonomy and Paleobiology  

作　　者：Martin G.LOCKLEY LI Jianjun LI Rihui Masaki MATSUKAWA Jerald D.HARRIS XING Lida 

机构地区：[1]University of Colorado Denver,Dinosaur Tracks Research Group [2]Beijing Museum of Natural History Museum [3]Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology,China Geological Survey [4]Department of Environmental Sciences,Tokyo Gakugei University [5]Department of Physical Sciences,Dixie State College [6]Department of Biological Sciences,University of Alberta,11455 Saskatchewan Drive

出　　处：《Acta Geologica Sinica(English Edition)》2013年第1期1-20,共20页地质学报（英文版）

基　　金：supported by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science(to Masaki Matsukawa,no.1183303,1999-2000);the Grant-in Aid for University and Society Collaboration of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science,Sports and Culture(to Masaki Matsukawa,no. 11791012,1999-2001);The Shandong portion of this study was supported financially,in part,by the National Natural Science Foundation of China grant no.40972005 to Rihui Li;The Nei Mongol portion of this study was supported by a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(40872005) to Jianjun Li;the Beijing Museum of Natural History,with supplemental support from the Dinosaur Tracks Museum,University of Colorado Denver

摘　　要：＂Splitting＂ and ＂lumping＂ are perpetual problems in vertebrate, especially dinosaur, ichnotaxonomy. Chinese dinosaur ichnotaxonomy, which began in 1940, provides a series of interesting case studies, highlighting the dual problems of historical and dubious ichnotaxonomy. Chinese Mesozoic tetrapod track types have been placed into 63 ichnospecies （one Triassic, 28 Jurassic, and 34 Cretaceous）, exclusive of other, non-type ichnospecies or ichnotaxa identified from China. Fifty-two （~83%） of these 63 tetrapod ichnospecies were placed in monospecific ichnogenera. At the ichnogenus level, we prune---either by recognizing nomina dubia or by synonymy--17 from the list of 53 dinosaurian ichnogenera （a 32% reduction）, leaving 36 ichnotaxa that we consider valid. Most of the cuts affect Jurassic theropod ichnotaxa, which are reduced from 23 to only nine because most ichnogenera are subjective junior synonyms of Grallator and Eubrontes. Fewer Chinese Cretaceous ichnotaxa （only six of 21 ichnogenera） are obvious nomina dubia or subjective synonyms, suggesting greater east Asian endemism during this time. Because ichnospecies differences are subtle, we provisionally retain ichnospecies as valid pending detailed comparative analyses of congeneric ichnospecies. This synthesis is long overdue and is necessary to address problems of historical and provincial ichnotaxonomy, which severely hamper comparisons of tetrapod ichnofaunas in space and time.＂Splitting＂ and ＂lumping＂ are perpetual problems in vertebrate, especially dinosaur, ichnotaxonomy. Chinese dinosaur ichnotaxonomy, which began in 1940, provides a series of interesting case studies, highlighting the dual problems of historical and dubious ichnotaxonomy. Chinese Mesozoic tetrapod track types have been placed into 63 ichnospecies （one Triassic, 28 Jurassic, and 34 Cretaceous）, exclusive of other, non-type ichnospecies or ichnotaxa identified from China. Fifty-two （~83%） of these 63 tetrapod ichnospecies were placed in monospecific ichnogenera. At the ichnogenus level, we prune---either by recognizing nomina dubia or by synonymy--17 from the list of 53 dinosaurian ichnogenera （a 32% reduction）, leaving 36 ichnotaxa that we consider valid. Most of the cuts affect Jurassic theropod ichnotaxa, which are reduced from 23 to only nine because most ichnogenera are subjective junior synonyms of Grallator and Eubrontes. Fewer Chinese Cretaceous ichnotaxa （only six of 21 ichnogenera） are obvious nomina dubia or subjective synonyms, suggesting greater east Asian endemism during this time. Because ichnospecies differences are subtle, we provisionally retain ichnospecies as valid pending detailed comparative analyses of congeneric ichnospecies. This synthesis is long overdue and is necessary to address problems of historical and provincial ichnotaxonomy, which severely hamper comparisons of tetrapod ichnofaunas in space and time.

关 键 词：Dinosaurs BIRDS theropods ichnotaxonomy MESOZOIC China 

分 类 号：P52[天文地球—古生物学与地层学]