Ornithichnites

Ornithichnites
Temporal range: Early Jurassic, 201–190 Ma
Trace fossil classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Ichnogenus: †Ornithichnites
Hitchcock, 1836
Type ichnospecies
†Ornithichnites crassus
Hitchcock, 1837
Other ichnospecies
  • †Ornithichnites argenterae Portis, 1879

Ornithichnites is an ichnotaxon of mammal footprint that was originally classified as a dinosaur.[1] The name was originally used by Edward Hitchcock in 1836 as a higher group name rather than a specific ichnogenus,[1] and thus the name does not have priority over specific ichnogeneric names even if they were first identified as Ornithichnites.[2][3] Only two ichnospecies exist: O. crassus[4] and O. argenterae.[5]

  1. ^ a b E. Hitchcock. 1836. Ornithichnology - description of the foot marks of birds, (Ornithichnites) on new Red Sandstone in Massachusetts. The American Journal of Science and Arts 29(2):307-340
  2. ^ The Beginning of the Age of Dinosaurs: Faunal Change across the Triassic-Jurassic Boundary, edited by Kevin Padian (1988). page 263.
  3. ^ Glut, Donald F. (2003). "Appendix: Dinosaur Tracks and Eggs". Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia. 3rd Supplement. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 613–652. ISBN 0-7864-1166-X.
  4. ^ E. Hitchcock. 1837. Fossil footsteps in sandstone and graywacke. The American Journal of Sciences and Arts 32:174-176
  5. ^ T. C. Winkler. 1886. Histoire de l’Ichnologie. Étude Ichnologique sur les Empreintes de Pas d’Animaux Fossiles, Suivie de la Description des Plaques à Impressions d’Animaux qui se Trouvent au Musée Teyler [History of Ichnology. Ichnological Study of Fossil Animal Footprints, Followed by the Description of Slabs with Animal Impressions found in Teyler’s Museum] iv-200