First report of sauropod and ornithopod tracks from the Upper Cretaceous of Tibet, China

Dinosaurs were abundant and diverse during the Cretaceous period, but relevant reports from the Tibet Plateau are far rare. Here, we report a new dinosaur tracksite from Zonggei Formation of continental alluvial fan in Dingqing County, which is the first discovery of Upper Cretaceous sauropod and ornithopod dinosaurs in Tibet, China. Four track layers have been found at this tracksite, three of them showing well-preserved and densely-packed dinosaur footprints. Most abundant are sauropod tracks (probably titanosaur) on a trampled area, making it impossible to distinct trackways. One clear ornithopod (probably hadrosaur) trackway is composed of eight consecutive pes, tracks permitting to analyse the gait of the trackmaker. The ichnoassemblage provides evidence for the presence of abundant dinosaurs in the Late Cretaceous of the Tibet region.