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Geology; June, 2007; v. 35; no. 6; p. 507-510; DOI: 10.1130/G23452A.1
© 2007 Geological Society of America
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Were non-avian theropod dinosaurs able to swim? Supportive evidence from an Early Cretaceous trackway, Cameros Basin (La Rioja, Spain)

Rubén Ezquerra1, Stéfan Doublet2, Loic Costeur3, Peter M. Galton*,4 and Felix Pérez-Lorente5

1 Fundación Patrimonio Paleontológico de La Rioja, 26586 Enciso, La Rioja, Spain
2 Laboratoire Géologie des Systèmes Carbonatés, Université Aix-Marseille, 13331 Marseille Cedex 03, France
3 Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique de Nantes, Université de Nantes, 44322 Nantes Cedex 3, France
4 University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, Connecticut 06604, USA
5 Fundación Patrimonio Paleontológico de La Rioja, 26586 Enciso, La Rioja, Spain

A fundamental question remaining unanswered in dinosaur behavior is whether they had the ability to swim. We report the discovery of an exceptional swimming dinosaur trackway, with 12 consecutive footprints, in lacustrine nearshore sediment from the Early Cretaceous Cameros Basin, La Rioja, Spain. The singular morphology of these footprints strongly suggests a floating animal clawing the sediment as it swam. Diagnostic traits of theropod dinosaur footprints are identifiable in these peculiar elongated S-shaped ichnites. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction indicates an upper shoreface setting with a maximum water depth of ~3 m, substantiating the swimming hypothesis. Ichnological analysis of the trackway shows that this theropod used a pelvic paddle motion, similar to that of modern bipeds, and swam with amplified asymmetrical walking movements to maintain direction into a leftward water current. After recent hints of swimming dinosaurs, this new evidence persuasively demonstrates that some non-avian theropod dinosaurs were swimmers.

Key Words: ichnology • non-avian theropod dinosaur • swimming trackway • Cretaceous • Spain




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