Parabrontopodus
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| Parabrontopodus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tracks near the A16 highway, Switzerland | |
Trace fossil classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Ichnogenus: | †Parabrontopodus Lockley, Farlow, & Meyer, 1994 |
| Type ichnospecies | |
| Parabrontopodus mcintoshi Lockley, Farlow, & Meyer, 1994 | |
Parabrontopodus is an ichnogenus of dinosaur footprint, that was initially described by Lockley et al. in 1994,[1] and was assigned to Sauropoda by Lockley in 2002 and in 2004 by Niedzwiedzki and Pienkowski. Various species leave their footprints, which are characterized by the association of two impressions left by hand and foot. The acquisition of a specific family is complex, but now in most cases, they have been considered diplodocoids and similar animals. The reason is that their traces left are large, but in proportion to the size, they seem very light because the depth of imprint is low.
Farlow, in 1992, had given a criterion for classifying sauropod tracks. Traces are distinguished wide as Brontopodus (Farlow et al., 1989) and the narrow track related to Breviparopus (Dutuit et al., 1980 cf. Farlow, 1992). As the Parabrontopodus track ratio is 1:5, it is considered narrow by Lockley.
- P. mcintoshi - It was built based on abundant fossil tracks at the Purgatoire site southeast of Colorado, but the holotype is a pair of hands and feet (CU-CTM 190–5). The footprint measures 91 centimeters (3.0 ft). The type species is considered a diplodocoid.
- P. distercii - Based on a trackway consisting of 17 prints of the fore and hind feet found at the site of Salgar Chairs (Soria, Spain). The hind footprints are elongated, averaging 148.5 cm (4.9 ft) long and only 72.7 cm (2.4 ft) wide.[2]
