Estudio de un rastro de huellas de Saurópodo del yacimiento de las Cuestas I (Santa Cruz de Yanguas, Soria, España). Implicaciones taxonómicas

Abstract

 The tracksite of Las Cuestas I (Santa Cruz de Yanguas, Soria), in the Huérteles Alloformation (Cameros Basin) has almost 600 dinosaur tracks, mostly grouped in 51 trackways: theropods, ornithopods and mainly sauropods. LCU-I- 37 is emphasized among the latest ones for having 28 manus-pes sets sauropod footprints with digit marks and besides some of their natural casts have been found with tracks of their feet as well as their hands, with magnificent replica of their nails. The study of the footprints and natural casts reveals: tracks of feet with impressions of 3 decreasing nails I to III, going towards outside the track, and with two semicircular marks corresponding to the callosities of digits IV and V; and those horseshoe handed ones, with a very reduced mark of digit I. It is also deduced that it is a typical track of medium gauge, in the lower limit of those of narrow gauge. The index of heteropody is intermediate (IH of 1:3). According to their non concordant characteristics with the main ichnogenus of sauropods, they may probably belong to a new ichnogenus, similar to Parabrontopodus, suitable of clade Macronaria no Titanosauriformes.