- Eubrontes
"Eubrontes" (Hitchcock, 1845) is the name of fossilised
dinosaur footprints dating from theLate Triassic . They have been identified from France, Poland, Slovakia, Italy, Australia (Queensland) and the USA."Eubrontes" is the name of the footprints, identified by their shape, and not of the
genus or genera that made them, which is as yet unknown. They are most famous for their discovery in the Connecticut River Valley, Massachusetts in 1802. They, among other footprints, were the first known dinosaur remains to be discovered in North America, though they were initially identified as large birds byEdward Hitchcock , a professor ofAmherst College . Another major find occurred at Rocky Hill, Connecticut in 1966. Nearly 600 prints are preserved there in an area now designatedDinosaur State Park . The trackways suggest that the animal that made the "Eubrontes" prints was social.A typical "Eubrontes" print is from 40 -50 cm wide, with three toes and evidence of a heel. It belongs to a biped that must have been over one metre high at the hip and from 5-6 metres long.
Colbert and others supposed that a large heavy carnivore like "Teratosaurus " (then considered to be a dinosaur) made the track, but a possible candidate is "Dilophosaurus breedorum", a largetheropod related to "Coelophysis ", or a close relative. However no "Dilophosaurus" fossil material is associated with "Eubrontes" tracks."Eubrontes" is the state fossil of Connecticut. The type species is "Eubrontes giganteus". The French footprint has been called "Eubrontes veillonensis". The name means 'true thunder,' probably referring to the supposed weight of the animal impacting on the ground.
See also
*
Connecticut River Valley trackways
*List of Australian dinosaurs
*Grallator
*Anomoepus
*Dilophosaurus
*Edward Hitchcock References
* Colbert, E., "Dinosaurs", Hutchinson & Co, 1962
* Dino Land State Fossils: Eubrontes of Connecticut www.geocities.com/stegob/eubrontesconnecticut.html?200611
* Queensland Dinosaur Trackways home.alphalink.com.au/dannj/larkqury.htm
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