Otozoum

Otozoum
Temporal range: Late Triassic - Middle Jurassic, 221–175 Ma
Otozoum moodii footprint
Trace fossil classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: †Sauropodomorpha
Ichnofamily: †Otozoidae
Ichnogenus: †Otozoum
Hitchcock, 1847
Ichnospecies
  • †Otozoum caudatum Hitchcock, 1871
  • †Otozoum grandcombensis Gand et al. 2000
  • †Otozoum minus Lull, 1915
  • †Otozoum moodii Hitchcock, 1847 (type ichnospecies)

Otozoum ("giant animal") is an extinct ichnogenus (fossilized footprints and other markings) of sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic-Middle Jurassic sandstones. Footprints were made by heavy, bipedal or, sometimes, quadrupedal animals with a short stride that walked on four toes directed forward.[1] These footprints are relatively large, over 20 cm in pes length.[1] Otozoum differs from Plateosaurus by having a notable homopody.[2]

  1. ^ a b S. G. Lucas, M. G. Lockley, A. P. Hunt, L. H. Tanner. 2006. "Biostratigraphic significance of tetrapod footprints from the Triassic-Jurassic Wingate Sandstone on the Colorado Plateau". In J. D. Harris, S. G. Lucas, J. A. Spielmann, M. G. Lockley, A. R. C. Milner, & J. I. Kirkland (eds.), The Triassic-Jurassic Terrestrial Transition. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 37: 109-117
  2. ^ G. Gand, M. Vianey-Liaud, G. Demathieu and J. Garric (2000). "Deux nouvelles traces de pas de Dinosaures du Trias supérieur de la bordure cévenole (la Grand-Combe, Sud-Est de la France) [New upper triassic dinosaur footprints from la Bordure cévenole' (La Grand-Combe, SE of France)]". Geobios. 33 (5): 599–624. doi:10.1016/S0016-6995(00)80033-9.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)