EARLY CRETACEOUS TURTLE TRACKS AND SKELETONS FROM THE JUNGGAR BASIN, XINJIANG, CHINA

Abstract

ABSTRACT A high density of tracks resembling both the ichnogenera Chelonipus and Emydhipus occurs on surfaces of the Lower Cretaceous Tugulu Group at the Huangyangquan tracksite in Wuerhe district (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, northwestern China). These ichnotaxa are especially known from Central Europe where they have been found in Triassic and Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous deposits. Tracks are highly variable in morphology due to having been made while walking and swimming over soft substrates. Nevertheless they are diagnostic of turtle trackmakers and are readily distinguished from those of other aquatic vertebrates such as crocodilians and from those of pterosaurs. Abundant turtle body fossils occur in the region helping to provide strong support for this interpretation. The record enlarges our knowledge of turtles, their environment and distribution in the Early Cretaceous of China.