The Late Cretaceous dinosaur track record of Bolivia – Review and perspective

Abstract

We present an update and a review of the Late Cretaceous dinosaur tracksites of Bolivia. The Puca Group (Coniacian – Late Maastrichtian) records the tracks and trackways of two different titanosaurid sauropods, ankylosaurs, hadrosaurs and different theropod groups from the Central Andean lacustrine back arc basin. We review the sites from the Maragua syncline (Chuquisaca) and present new data on the famous Toro Toro site (Potosi).Furthermore, the first complete map of the world's largest dinosaur tracksite, Cal Orck'o (El Molino Formation, Sucre) gives an insight into behavior and movement patterns. Parallel trackways of subadult ankylosaurs provide the first unequivocal evidence of social behavior amongst these dinosaurs worldwide. The El Molino Formation and the coeval deposits of Southern Peru and Northern Argentina form a megatracksite with a size of around 100,000 km2. The paleogeographic position of the main sites within the basin suggests that they are part of a seasonal migration route along the shoreline and deltas of an ancient lake system.