Another strange body impression

The Pula mega track site

A peculiar case of the probable reptilian body print from EK mega track site in Pula. Candidates: croc, gator, monitor lizard, chamsposaurid. Seemingly very large oval scales on the belly. It appears it had 5 toes on legs - (croc has 4)

The photo of the impression in situ and my interpretation:

Some ref literature

27 April 2022

The megatracksite phenomenon: implications for tetrapod palaeobiology across terrestrial-shallow-marine transitional zones

• Martin G. Lockley and
 
• Christian A. Meyer

https://doi.org/10.1144/SP522-2021-164

CITING LITERATURE

• Carlos Cónsole-Gonella, Silvina de Valais, Ignacio Díaz-Martínez, Paolo Citton, Mariano Verde, Duncan McIlroy, The ichnology of shallow-marine and transitional environments, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 10.1144/SP522-2022-344, 522, 1, (1-4), (2023).
  Abstract
• Alexander Wagensommer, Rainer Dolch, Tiana Ratolojanahary, Simon Donato, Simone D'Orazi Porchetti, Defining the Bemaraha megatracksite: an update on dinosaur ichnology in Madagascar, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 10.1144/SP522-2021-86, 522, 1, (2022).
  Abstract
• Ignacio Díaz-Martínez, Mikel A. López-Horgue, Luis M. Agirrezabala, Carlos Cónsole-Gonella, Xabier Pereda-Suberbiola, Dinosaur tracks in a Cretaceous (lower Albian) braid delta system (Basque–Cantabrian Basin, western Pyrenees): linking trace fossils suites and short-term preservation windows, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 10.1144/SP522-2021-197, 522, 1, (237-264), (2022).
  Abstract

My recent find

This quite large footprint belonged to an early Cretaceous theropod that reached the size of T.rex. The largest theropod I have found on this mega track site measured about 130 cm in length!

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

A theropod track from Solaris outcrop

"The field work in the late Albian track site of the Solaris Campground near Cervera/Červar (Torre/Tar municipality, Istria, Croatia) was undertaken during the years 1995-96 thanks to a grant of The Dinosaur Society and the collaboration of the local authorities. The field work at the site has been described in DALLA VECCHIA (1996). A description of the site before the cleaning of the main footprint-bearing surface and its detailed mapping and description can be seen in DALLA VECCHIA (1994). The detailed description has been published by DALLA VECCHIA et al. (2000)."
What's interesting about the Solaris track sites is that they are represented with relatively small dinosaur tracks. Dalla Vecchia speculates that the dinosaurs were of a diminutive size due to their habitat. They lived isolated on an island, whose resources couldn't provide for the "full-size" large dinosaurs that inhabited the mainlands. On the other hand, although roughly from the same age and just some 40-50km away, dinosaur tracks from Pula beaches are of many size classes, the biggest of which are among the world record breakers.

In the image below, you can see one of small theropod tracks from the Solaris beach. Red outline is my interpretation. This one wasn't described in any paper, yet.

There is probably more than one footprint in this image, but I have outlined only the best one.

More new tracks from Pula

A nice manus-pes set track on one of Pula's numerous dinoturbations. A large theropod tracks are near by, but not visible in this photograph.

The bottom feeding fish traces from Pula beach. Probably by some large sturgeon or similar fish. It is funny that it looks like a trackway left by a big foot man in flip-flops. However, this rocks and traces are about 100 million years old!

Not easy to explain

The majority of the tracks and traces are not well preserved and thus harder to interpret, if the interpretation is possible at all.
I have photographed something that looks like a sequence of rhytmical skratching of the shallow sea floor My first guess was: the small pterosaur swim traces (highlighted in the circles); the second guess is the water bird swim traces; the third is the trace fossils of fish fins swishing along bottom of shallow water;... or the artifact. Which one would you choose?
The age is Mid-Cretaceous (late Albian) of Pula.

A possible dromaeosaur footprint

The Brijuni islands (Istria, Croatia) still need to be thoroughly researched for the dinosaur tracks. Here is a possible small Late Albian (Early Cretaceous) dromaeosaur footprint I have found on the Main Brijun island, a couple of years ago.

One of the dinoturbations on the Main Brijun island.

A sea gull chick on the Main Brijun island.

A sea gull's nest on the Main Brijun island. The modern dinosaurs (birds) nesting among the tracks of their distant ancestors and relatives (dinosaurs).

A couple of different photographs

One of the photographs I took a couple of years ago, showing dwarf sauropod and theropod tracks at the Solaris (fkk auto camp) Early Cretaceous (Late Albian) outcrop.

For a change of pace: Here is a photograph of the Oligocene plant fossils I have collected near Zagorje ob Savi (Slovenia) many years ago. A toxodium branch (left) and a laurel leaf (right). The area was obviously a cypress swamp.

The first nudists on Solaris beach

Actually, the heading of this post is probably erroneous, because the small to mid-sized theropods were almost certainly not naked, but dressed up in their fancy "dino fuzz". However, there's no question about it that they were the first ones to occupy these wonderful beaches near Porec, around 100 million years ago (late Albian, Early Cretaceous). Fact is that the countless dinosaur tracks "litter" the long beach of the large Istrian naturist resort  Solaris.
To take these photographs without being surrounded by the naked people, I had to visit the site in December.
See one of my previous posts: "Small sauropod footprints at the beach" for more information.
In the photograph, you can see the "messy dinosaurs" again. There are numerous footprints in this image alone, in various states of preservation. I tried to outline the best ones. The largest theropod prints measure some 28-29 cm in length. So, I presume the animal was up to 4 meters long.
In the centre, there is a brown outline of what seems to be a small ornithopod. I think this print is not what it seems (see my post about the tracks on Kamenjak). In fact, this is just the mid section of the theropod track that got preserved in the "paleo-sand". Of course, the tracks were left in a fine wet sand, which is now a hard carbonate rock.

Happy International Labour Day!

A theropod or not

 Another example of a dubious footprint from late Albian rocks of Pula. I have interpreted it as a tridactyl track. It's probably a theropod. But I am not sure. It may be an ornithopod and even a thyreophoran. There's a short trackway there on that rock that may be thyreophoran and I have attributed one footprint to an iguanodontoid. There's even a chance that all those tracks of relatively small size belonged to the same animal. Making a detailed sketch of the outcrop and taking some casts would probably resolve the dilemmas.

 A small modern "theropod" was watching me taking the photographs.