Hadrosaur trackways from the Lower Cretaceous of Canada

• Main Author: Currie, P. J.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: 1983
• Subjects: geo; archeo; Canada; Peace River Canyon; Peace River
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.7939/R3KK94G1T; https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/485f400d-213e-44dc-b097-2a8bfe00837c

The most common ichnogenus in the Peace River Canyon is Amblydactylus, a large bipedal herbivore. The morphology of the hand and footprints suggest that the tracks and trackways were made by hadrosaurs, and the ichnites might represent the earliest record of these dinosaurs. Amblydactylus tracks were make in a wide variety of depositional environments, including the mud beneath several metres of water. Juveniles were gregarious and stayed together after hatching until they were large enough to join herds of more mature animals. Hadrosaur herds appear to have walked side by side, seldom crossing paths, although there was little structure to the herds when they were in the water and/or feeding. Calculation of the walking speeds indicate that the herbivores were generally slower than the carnivores.