Tragovi dinosaura opet uništeni betoniranjem obale

Pula 2011: 1st ankylosaur dinoturbation - left manus/pes set of a probable Polacanthinae ankylosaur. Manus is better preserved. The black outline is from Carpenter's Sauropelta (Tetrapodosaurus ichnospecies). 


Alas, these two were also covered with concrete last year.(2018) The tracks are being destroyed at the ever-increasing rate.

Oho, we have a situation here!

I have discovered this particular  Early Cretaceous sauropod track site a few years ago.Last weekend I went to take a few more photographs. The light was favourable, that late Friday afternoon, so I made some interesting new discoveries. It seems that a rather large theropod walked at the same site. Maybe a bit earlier than the sauropod, because the footprint on the left is a bit deformed by the print that sauropod left later. There was another theropod on the right, or maybe this time theropod returned to stalk the sauropod.
In fact, there should be a right manus sauropod print roughly at the same place where the theropod left pes imprint is. Thus, it seems that the theropod stepped over it, obliterating it. It's possible the large theropod was following the sauropod!
 There is at least a dozen different spots with sauropod tracks or dinoturbations near the city of Pula. I need to draw a map, because it is becoming ever harder to keep all those places, including the tracks of other tetrapods, in my mind.
My interpretation is on the right. The length of the theropod foot was in the range of 55 and 60 cm. The animal was probably at least 10 to 12 metres long.
TLP = theropod left pes; SRP = sauropod right pes; SRM = sauropod right manus

The ripple marks on a layer that is about 30 cm above the sauropod track site layer.

Ankylosaur tracks that are a few kilometres further along the coast.

The sea was very calm that day.

I must admit I am completely lost here: What made these round prints in a shallow sea water some 100 mya? A medusa? Some fish? (A ray fish feeding)?

My interpretation - which led me to no conculsion. Of course, it's not the only round imprint of the same kind there but this one is the largest.

Pula the other day: a mummified carcass of a seagull washed out on a beach. It gives you an idea why are many fossils so jumbled.

 A giant Iggy track-natural cast, I have found years ago. This one has its toes well defined. It is probably the right foot imprint.

The Iggy track - natural cast, I have found a few months ago. If you have any "objections" over its size, I can only tell you that I have found quite a few of the tracks of similar proportions and a couple of prints that are even larger!

Pula last weekend: Opa! It seems I have found some small pterosaur tracks, again. It might the left foot (pes) in the centre. The other prints are less preserved. I am quite certain that the left foot on the right belongs to me, though.

Tracks, tracks again

A mid-Cretaceous layer from the Solaris outcrop, with mud cracks and a possible dinosaur track. The ripple marks on a lower layer. I was standing on the rock that was about 80 cm above the layer with the mud cracks.

A possible sauropod track with my interpretative outline (Albian near Pula)

 A probable sauropod track

A pebbly beach, Pula.

 Some parallel sauropod trackways near Pula.

 Recent dog tracks showing varieties in preservation.

 Lovrečica: a damaged theropod trackway. A buldozer went over them during some construction works.

 Lovrečica: a theropod track.

 Some unusual traces from a Pula beach.

 Sauropod tracks near Pula.

 Theropod tracks (Pula)

 Cliffs (Pula)

 Rudists (Pula)

 A beach in Pula

Yet another dinoturbation at one of Pula's beaches

Walking along the beach in Pula, yesterday (01/11/2014) I have discovered yet another trackway outcrop. The new tracks are not the first class quality , but it is obvious that it's a dinoturbation and a few tracks can be defined. Besides the omnipresent sauropods, it seems I have found yet another intriguing footprint (the second one) that might have belonged to some "Proto-megalania" (not featured in this article).

A large dinosaur trackway (iguanodontoid or ankylosaur? Possibly under tracks or shallow tracks on a dried surface). This layer is a bit higher than the one featured above (roughly half a meter), but it is the same beach/outcrop.

I have selected this track as the best preserved one from the lower layer, but that doesn't mean I am sure about the track maker. At the site I thought I was looking at the sauropod manus-pes set. Now I am more inclined towards the tyreophoran (ankylosaur?) origin. But maybe it was an ornithopod. Anyway, I need to check out this new site again.

The Main Brijun island tracks, again

Although, the Pogledalo track site has been described more than once, still one can find many tracks and traces the previous authors overlooked. Here is a part of the outcrop, showing multiple rock layers. The ripple marks are nicely visible in the lower half of the photo, while a theropod footprint is present in the upper half to the left side.

Some tracks from the Main Brijun island site. The left pes (near my feet) of a large theropod (length of the footprint is about half a meter) and the smaller probably theropod track to the right, going in the opposite direction are clearly visible in the photograph below.

My interpretation of the upper photo tracks.

Pula titanosaur tracks

The titanosaur sauropod tracks are perhaps the most common on the Pula beaches. Here are a few examples. However, the circle in the top photograph might in fact be a concretion.

 

A small theropod footprint is shaped a bit strange. A pterosaur footprint is near by, but not visible in this photo.

Paleoart odds and ends

About 16 or 17 years ago, while surfing the ancient Internet, I have accidentally found a set of 9 postal stamps from Republique du Niger. To my great surprise,
6 of the images were ripped off my web site. Several online philatelist sites were selling them legally. I never got credited, let alone paid nor even got a sample of my used artwork. Although, I have filed a protest, after which some of the of the distributors stopped selling them online. The two b/w images are from the NHM in NY and the last one is by my friend Brian Franczak.

On Istrian tracks again

The footprint of a medium-sized theropod from the Grakalovac (Kamenjak/Premantura) site.

I keep finding new tracks after the heavy rains at the Ankylosaur dinoturbation site (I) in Pula. This left pes impression is about 40 cm long (+- 2 cm). my interpretation is the red outline below, of course. Obviously it belongs to the smaller specimen on the site. "Smaller" means that the dinosaur was probably about 8-9 meters long. That is huge for an ankylosaur! Now you can calculate yourself how big was the trackmaker anky who left the footprints some 70-75 cm long there!

The outcrop.

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Two consecutive cervical vertebrae of the Istrian pygmy titanosauriform sauropod (Early Cretaceous -Barremian). Only a small portion of the anterior one is preserved. The fossil before preparation. The photograph from the museum/gallery Ulika in Bale. — kraj: Bale-Valle Istra