Parabrontopodus fossil map
Where fossils of Parabrontopodus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 145 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 145 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Sauropods & prosauropods |
|---|---|
| Lived | 201.4–100.5 million years ago (Hettangian to Albian) |
| Periods | Jurassic, Cretaceous |
| Family | Parabrontopodidae |
| Named by | Lockley et al. 1995 |
| Fossil records | 46 occurrences at 34 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | China, Italy, France, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, United States, Croatia … |
| Rock formations | Tianjialou, Azóia, txn:91656, Monte Zugna, Mengtuan, Morrison |
About Parabrontopodus
Parabrontopodus is an ichnogenus of dinosaur footprint, that was initially described by Lockley et al. in 1994, 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.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Parabrontopodus (revision 1351872221), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q3363104.
