The youngest dinosaur footprints from England and their palaeoenvironmental implications

Abstract

Newly discovered dinosaur footprints from the Lower Cretaceous (Albian) Folkestone Formation (Lower Greensand Group) of Kent in S.E. England can be referred to theropod, ornithopod and possibly ankylosaur dinosaurs. The occurrence of dinosaur footprints, together with fossil wood and oysters in a matrix of well-rounded quartz grains indicates a coastal depositional environment of an extremely shallow depth, perhaps with short periods of subaerial exposure. This is the first record of dinosaur footprints from the Folkestone Formation, and it represents the youngest association of dinosaur footprints from England. The moderately diverse dinosaur ichnoassemblage of theropods, ornithopods, ankylosaurs and previously documented fossils indicate deposition on a sandy beach setting.