An article on my discovery of the marine reptile imprints on Monte
Conero and on the study conducted by me with collaboration of the Museum of
Sciences of the University of Camerino.
Un articolo relativo al mio ritrovamento delle orme di rettile marino sul Monte Conero e sullo studio che ho condotto con la collaborazione del Museo delle Scienze dell'Università di Camerino.
Luca Natali a ⧫, Alessandro Blasetti b, Giuseppe Crocetti b
a Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana, c/o Museo Civico di Zoologia, Via Ulisse Aldrovandi, 18, 00197 Rome, Italy
b Sistema Museale - Museo delle Scienze dell'Università di Camerino, Via Gioco del Pallone, 5, 62032 Camerino, MC, Italy
⧫ Corresponding author
Abstract
Inside the Conero Natural Park,
in Central Italy, on the top layers of the Maiolica Formation belonging
to the Umbria-Marche succession, were discovered 11 depressions
identified as a fossil trackway
in an area forbidden to the public for safety reasons. We collected
data about their dimensional and morphological characteristics, together
with photographic documentation and cast collection, in an area
difficult to reach. This data, with the characteristic alternation and
the almost straight line of the depressions, together with the nature of
the sediment on which they were imprinted, lead us to believe that were discovered imprints constituting a trackway generated on a deep seabed.
Furthermore, the results of our studies allow us to hypothesize that the
series of tracks may have been impressed by the fore-paddles of a Lower Cretaceous
marine tetrapod, a reptile not yet identified. According to current
knowledge, the examined tracks seem to be unique for this period and
rare for the deep seabed paleoenvironment.
Keywords
Ichnofossils; Marine reptile; Tetrapod; Lower Cretaceous; Central Italy; Monte Conero
1. Introduction
This paper comes deals with the discovery, by the senior author L. Natali, of ichnofossils, interpretable as imprints impressed in deep sea sediments, within the Natural Park of Conero. Shortly after the discovery, Natali informed Dr. Stefano Finocchi, area inspector for the Superintendence of Archaeological Heritage of the Marche Region, by means of a detailed written scientific report [...]
Article
related to the discovery of ichnofossils made by the researcher Dr. Luca Natali inside the Natural
Park of Monte Conero and to the related scientific study conducted by him with collaboration of the researchers of the Unicam Science Museum.
Articolo relativo al ritrovamento di icnofossili effettuato dal ricercatore Luca Natali
all’interno del Parco Naturale del Monte Conero e al relativo studio
scientifico da lui condotto con la collaborazione dei ricercatori del Museo delle
Scienze Unicam.
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- Ultimo articolo scientifico/My last research paper:
