Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
8916148 Cretaceous Research 2018 23 Pages PDF
Abstract
Isolated bone fragments are typically disregarded during the collection of vertebrate remains because of the apparent lack of useful taxonomic information, as compared to intact or articulated bones. The presence of isolated bone fragments is occasionally reported, but no particular taphonomic data are conveyed and valuable depositional information is overlooked. However, through the analysis of borings and other traces of encrusting organisms present on bone fragments, we may obtain valuable information about their post-mortem histories within a depositional environment. In this study, bivalve borings in isolated hadrosaur bone fragments are described from the Campanian Cerro del Pueblo Formation of Coahuila, north-central Mexico. Two ichnotraces indicate transport from terrestrial to shallow-marine environments: Gastrochaenolites turbinatus and Gastrochaenolites cluniformis. These borings represent the first description of Gastrochaenolites at ichnospecies level in dinosaur bones. Additional relics of encrusting organisms and the fill of sediment provide evidence for subsequent reworking and reburial of the bones. The taphonomic analysis results an important clue for understanding the preservation of the studied fragmented bones within brackish and marine sedimentary settings, and an aid for reconstructing the Late Cretaceous environmental evolution in north-central Mexico.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Earth and Planetary Sciences Palaeontology
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