| Gigandipus Temporal range: Norian–Cenomanian | |
|---|---|
| |
| Gigandipus footprint from the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site in the Moenave Formation of Arizona | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Family: | †Gigandipodidae |
| Genus: | †Gigandipus Hitchcock, 1845 |
Gigandipus is an ichnogenus of theropod dinosaur footprints dating to the Norian-Cenomanian. The most well-known footprints are from the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site in the Moenave Formation of Arizona, which dates back to the Hettangian age of the Early Jurassic. It was likely the apex predator there.
Footprints of Gigandipus and Eubrontes
A notable feature of these footprints are the similarity to the ichnogenera Eubrontes, which Gigandipus is possibly synonymous of. The main differences of the footprints of these two ichnogenera are the extra digit in the second phalangeal pad of Gigandipus. This may suggest that Gigandipus may have walked different and with lower rotation of the toes than Eubrontes.
Before dinosaurs were widely known about, Gigandipus was originally thought to be footprints from a wading bird or a huge frog.
Gallery[]
