Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

A Late Eocene date for Late Triassic bird tracks

Subjects

This article has been updated

Abstract

Arising from R. N. Melchor, S. De Valais & J. F. Genise Nature 417, 936–938 (2002)10.1038/nature00818

Bird-like tracks from northwest Argentina have been reported as being of Late Triassic age1. They were attributed to an unknown group of theropods showing some avian characters. However, we believe that these tracks are of Late Eocene age on the basis of a new weighted mean 206Pb/238U date (isotope dilution–thermal ionization mass spectrometry method) on zircons from a tuff bed in the sedimentary succession containing the fossil tracks. In consequence, the mentioned tracks are assigned to birds and its occurrence matches the known fossil record of Aves.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Date distribution plot for analysed zircons from tuff sample SD04-7 from the former Santo Domingo Formation (now considered as part of the Laguna Brava Formation).

Similar content being viewed by others

Change history

  • 08 August 2013

    Original paper, Nature 417, 936-938 (2002), has now been retracted.

References

  1. Melchor, R. N., De Valais, S. & Genise, J. F. Bird-like fossil footprints from the Late Triassic. Nature 417, 936–938 (2002)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. De Valais, S. & Melchor, R. N. Ichnotaxonomy of bird-like footprints: An example from the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic of northwest Argentina. J. Vertebr. Paleontol. 28, 145–159 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Caminos, R., Zamuner, A. B., Limarino, O. C. & Fauqué, L. El Triásico superior fosilífero en la Precordillera riojana. Rev. Asoc. Geol. Argent. 50, 262–265 (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Coughlin, T. J. Linked Orogen-Oblique Fault Zones in the Central Argentine Andes: The Basis of a New Model for Andean Orogenesis and Metallogenesis (Univ. Queensland, 2001)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Vizán, H. et al. Geological setting and paleomagnetism of the Eocene red beds of Laguna Brava Formation (Quebrada Santo Domingo, northwestern Argentina). Tectonophysics 583, 105–123 (2013)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Melchor, R. N., Bedatou, E., de Valais, S. & Genise, J. F. Lithofacies distribution of invertebrate and vertebrate trace-fossil assemblages in an Early Mesozoic ephemeral fluvio-lacustrine system from Argentina: Implications for the Scoyenia ichnofacies. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 239, 253–285 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Mattinson, J. M. Zircon U–Pb chemical abrasion (“CA-TIMS”) method: Combined annealing and multi-step partial dissolution analysis for improved precision and accuracy of zircon ages. Chem. Geol. 220, 47–66 (2005)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Rioux, M. et al. Protracted timescales of lower crustal growth at the fast-spreading East Pacific Rise. Nature Geosci. 5, 275–278 (2012)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Gradstein, F. M., Ogg, J. G., Smith, A. G., Bleeker, W. & Lourens, L. J. A new Geologic Time Scale, with special reference to Precambrian and Neogene. Episodes 27, 83–100 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Genise, J. F. et al. Application of neoichnological studies to behavioural and taphonomic interpretation of fossil bird-like tracks from lacustrine settings: The Late Triassic-Early Jurassic? Santo Domingo Formation, Argentina. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 272, 143–161 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Jaffey, A. H., Flynn, K. F., Glendenin, L. E., Bentley, W. C. & Essling, A. M. Precision measurement of half-lives and specific activities of 235U and 238U. Phys. Rev. C 4, 1889–1906 (1971)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. McLean, N. M., Bowring, J. F. & Bowring, S. A. An algorithm for U-Pb isotope dilution data reduction and uncertainty propagation. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 12, Q0AA18 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Bowring, J. F., McLean, N. M. & Bowring, S. A. Engineering cyber infrastructure for U-Pb geochronology: Tripoli and U-Pb_Redux. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 12, Q0AA19 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

R.N.M. conducted project planning, geological constraints and tuff sampling. R.B. and S.B. carried out laboratory work, data analysis and presentation.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ricardo N. Melchor.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

Declared none.

PowerPoint slides

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Melchor, R., Buchwaldt, R. & Bowring, S. A Late Eocene date for Late Triassic bird tracks. Nature 495, E1–E2 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11931

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11931

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing