| Basic info | Taxonomic history | Classification | Included Taxa |
| Morphology | Ecology and taphonomy | External Literature Search | Age range and collections |
Afrodelatorrichnus ellenbergeri
Taxonomy
Afrodelatorrichnus ellenbergeri was named by Bordy et al. (2020). It is considered to be a form taxon. Its type specimen is Trackway A from the Highlands locality (cast, BP/6/744), a footprint, and it is a trace fossil. Its type locality is Highlands tracksite, which is in a Pliensbachian/Toarcian floodplain sandstone in the Lesotho Formation of South Africa. It is the type species of Afrodelatorrichnus.
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Afrodelatorrichnus ellenbergeri Bordy et al. p. 16 |
| 2025 | Afrodelatorrichnus ellenbergeri Foster et al. p. 274 |
Is something missing? Join the Paleobiology Database and enter the data
|
|
If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
†Afrodelatorrichnus ellenbergeri Bordy et al. 2020
show all | hide all
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| E. M. Bordy et al. 2020 | Delatorrichnopodid trackways with outwardly
rotated tridactyl pes, and ?tridactyl manus. Larger than, and differing from, Delatorrichnus in pes trackway width and lack of pes on manus overstep. Also differing from Delatorrichnus in configuration of pes pad impressions which are narrower and more widely separated in Afrodelatorrichnus. | |
| J. R. Foster et al. 2025 | Modified from Bordy et al. (2020): Trackway of a small, obligate quadruped with outwardly rotated tridactyl pes and smaller manus with indistinct digit traces (?tridactyl) recording a distinctive gait in which outwardly rotated pes registered outside, or “lateral” to, trackway midline and manus registered on or inside, or “medial” to, trackway midline. Moderate heteropody, with pes more than twice as long and wide as manus.
Pes tracks small tridactyl, mesaxonic, and slightly elongate: mean length of 3.8e4.3 cm and mean width of 3.1–3.4 cm. Digit III longest with an anterior triangle length-to-width ratio of 0.4–0.8. Pes outward rotation, although variable, is as high as 45° and averages 15–17.8°. Digit traces deep, fusiform, lacking differentiated digital pad traces and sometimes separate from shallow, broad, posteriorly convex “heel” trace in holotype trackway. Mean divarication of Digits II–IV is ~50°. Manus tracks small, tridactyl, mesaxonic, with occasionally clear digit traces with a mean length of 2.0–1.7 cm and mean width of 1.6–1.9 cm. Manus trackway width smaller than pes trackway width due to manus registration medial to trackway midline: that is, typically inside pes tracks. Larger than, and differing from, Delatorrichnus in pes trackway width and lack of pes-on-manus overstep. Also differing from Delatorrichnus in configuration of pes pad impressions, which are narrower and more widely separated in Afrodelatorrichnus. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
| Source: o = order | |||||
| Reference: Marsh 1875 | |||||
Age range: base of the Pliensbachian to the top of the Late/Upper Jurassic or 192.90000 to 143.10000 Ma
Collections (2 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pliensbachian - Toarcian | South Africa (Free State) | Afrodelatorrichnus ellenbergeri (type locality: 231002) | |
| Middle Jurassic - Late/Upper Jurassic | Zimbabwe (Mashonaland West) | Theropoda indet. (231194) |