First known fossil bird tracks (Pleistocene) on San Salvador island, Bahamas
Abstract
Two avian footprints discovered in the Grotto Beach Formation (Pleistocene) of San Salvador Island (Bahamas) are the first known vertebrate trace fossils on this well-studied island. The trace fossils, preserved as beddingplane impressions in an oolitic-bioclastic grainstone, match the size and form of tracks made by modern gulls. The tracks are in beach facies located below a paleosol dated from Marine Isotope Substage 5e (~120,000kya). These tracks add to a record of Pleistocene bird tracks reported from Eleuthera Island and bode well for the recognition of more vertebrate trace fossils on San Salvador and other Bahamian islands.
Keywords
Bahamas; Birds; Ichnology; Pleistocene; Trace fossils
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PDFDOI: https://doi.org/10.1344/GeologicaActa2015.13.1.4
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Facultat de Ciències de la Terra Geociències Barcelona Institut de Diagnosi Ambiental Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Universitat de Barcelona i Estudis de l'Aigua (CSIC)
Geologica Acta (ISSN-1695-6133)
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Phone: +34 93 403 19 89 | E-mail: geologica-acta@ictja.csic.es