New Middle to ?Late Jurassic dinosaur tracksites in the Central High Atlas Mountains, Morocco

Besides bones, fossil tracks and trackways are important sources of knowledge about dinosaur palaeobiology. Here, we report three new tracksites from two different synclines in the Imilchil area, Central High Atlas, Morocco. The tracks and trackways are preserved in fluvial deposits in different levels of the Isli Formation (Early Bathonian-?Upper Jurassic), and contain impressions made by sauropods, theropods and ornithopods, as well as tracks that might represent bird-like non-avian theropod dinosaurs. In addition to traditional field measurements, three-dimensional digital models of the track sites were created using photogrammetry. These new tracksites add to the rich faunal ichnoassemblage already recorded from the High Atlas Mountains and North Africa, which is considerably richer than the contemporaneous body fossil record, and also provide new data on dinosaurs-substrate interactions.

Automated summary

In addition to bone fossils, fossil tracks and trackways provide valuable insights into dinosaur paleobiology. This article reports on three new tracksites from the Imilchil area in Morocco, which contain tracks made by different types of dinosaurs, including sauropods, theropods, ornithopods, and potentially bird-like non-avian theropods. The authors also created three-dimensional digital models of the track sites using photogrammetry. These new tracksites contribute to our understanding of dinosaur-substrate interactions and enrich the existing record of faunal ichnoassemblages in the High Atlas Mountains and North Africa.