Prorotodactylus

Prorotodactylus
Temporal range: 249 Ma
Trace fossil classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauromorpha
Clade: Crocopoda
Clade: Archosauriformes
Ichnofamily: Prorotodactylidae
Ichnogenus: Prorotodactylus
Ptaszynski, 2000
Type ichnospecies
Prorotodactylus mirus
Ichnospecies
  • P. lutevensis (Demathieu, 1984)
  • P. mirus Ptaszynski, 2000
  • P. mesaxonichnus Mujal et al., 2017
Paleoartistic restitution (hypothetical) of Prorotodactylus mirus by Carlos Alberca.

Prorotodactylus is an archosauriform ichnogenus known from fossilized footprints found in Europe. The definitive tracemaker of this ichnotaxon has been debated among paleontologists. Some researchers have suggested that prints may have been made by a dinosauromorph that was a precursor to the dinosaurs, possibly closely related to Lagerpeton, but others have questioned the dinosauromorph affinites with its relation to Lagerpeton and suggested that they represent trace fossils of other archosauriforms such as euparkeriids or pterosauromorphs. Prorotodactylus is the only ichnogenus within the ichnofamily Prorotodactylidae. Three ichnospecies are known: P. mirus (the type ichnospecies), P. lutevensis and P. mesaxonichnus.


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