Camarasaurus and Allosaurus - Trackway - Day 19

[dino_a_day]

An exposed slab of late Jurassic mudstone north of Moab, Utah reveals a unique scene of a potential interaction between a few dinosaurs. A large sauropod, possibly a Camarasaurus, turns mid-stride, apparently reacting to a smaller theropod running nearby. A few yards away, an Allosaurus leaves the site with an irregular stride, possibly the result of a limp. Was this a site where an adult Allosaurus and a juvenile tried to tackle a Camarasaurus and were driven off after a conflict? Or was the smaller theropod running past after something else that caused the Camarasaurus to turn and watch it warily as it ran by? There's no way for us to know what the order of these events were, or what even the exact event was, but it lends nicely to some interesting speculation.



The limping (?) Allosaur



To give an idea of size, I could sit down in one of the sauropod tracks and be completely within its edges.

I will be home tomorrow, so soon we will be back to my regular level of detail in these drawings, or so I hope!

Comments

[needled_ink_1975]

Dino crime scene analysis! Oh, man. You rock (no pun intended). This post is beyond cool, and thanks for the drawing, and outlining those tracks. And for the scale reference. The only tracks I've seen are in Lesotho (several locations), and they're mostly therapod tracks– big, but not nearly as big as the ones in your pics. I like being awed; really like that "Holy wow..." feeling, when I feel small and insignificant. I suspect I'd feel that way just looking at those tracks, in person. Because: imagine how *BIG* the animal was that left those tracks?

Thanks!

–Nici