Megalosauropus
Pronunciation
meg-ah-low-sore-o-pus
Meaning
Great lizard foot
Period
Cretaceous (145 - 66mya)
Ichnospecies in Australia
broomensis
Ichnospecies meaning
From Broome.
Origin and other locations
Originally described by Colbert and Merrilees in 1967, this ichnogenus fell out of use thanks to work by Gierlinski (1994) and Lockley and colleagues (1996). Megalosauropus broomensis has been referred to the ichnogenus Grallator (forming the new combination Grallator broomensis), although it is still commonly seen written in its old form. New research by Salisbury et al. (2016) has brought back the name Megalosauropus broomensis with a redescription of the original material.
Australian use and location
Broome region WA (Colbert & Merrilees 1967), Broome region WA (Salisbury 2016).
Description
These tracks are the most commonly associated type related to the Dreaming of ‘the emu man’ (Marala) in the local indigenous culture. Large three-toed theropod prints between 28–60cm long, representing a large dinosaur perhaps 8 or 9m long.