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First pterosaur footprints from the Tera Group (Tithonian–Berriasian) Cameros Basin, Spain

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Abstract

The discovery of the Larañe (La Rioja, Spain) ichnological site provides the first outcrop pterosaur footprints in the Tera Group of the Cameros Basin. The footprint have characteristics similar to some of those already known in the Oncala Group, suggesting that possibly pterosaurs, which lived in this area during the deposition of the Tithonian–Berriasian sequences, were very similar. In this case, the footprints, assigned to Pteraichnus-like ichnogenus, are perfectly related to with those of morphotype A of the Los Tormos site (Soria) located in sediments of the Oncala Group.>

Resumen

El descubrimiento del yacimiento icnológico de Larañe (La Rioja España) ha proporcionado las primeras huellas de pterosaurios en el Grupo Tera de la Cuenca de Cameros. Las huellas tienen características similares a algunas de las ya conocidas en el Grupo Oncala lo que hace pensar que posiblemente los pterosaurios que habitaron en esta zona durante el depósito de las secuencias del Titónico–Berriasiense fueron muy semejantes. En este caso las huellas asignadas al icnogénero Pteraichnus se relacionan perfectamente con las del morfotipo A del yacimiento de Los Tormos (Soria) perteneciente al Grupo Oncala.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the General Direction of Culture of the Government of La Rioja for granting the permission to investigate this new site. We also thank the reviewers for comments made, which has resulted in a better understanding of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to F. Pérez-Lorente.

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Hernández-Medrano, N., Pascual-Arribas, C. & Pérez-Lorente, F. First pterosaur footprints from the Tera Group (Tithonian–Berriasian) Cameros Basin, Spain. J Iber Geol 43, 245–255 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41513-017-0020-8

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