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Footprint type

Deltapodus

Whyte and Romano 1995

Deltapodus is a footprint type: the name is for the fossil footprints themselves. The animal that made them is not known for certain. Its footprints are found in rocks 174.7–125.8 million years old in 6 countries, most often Spain and Portugal.

Confidence labels
How sure are we?0 high16 medium10 lowHow we rate confidence

Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.

At a glance

Data as of 12 October 2026
174.7–125.8 Ma
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
252 million years ago20114366

Solid: the ages of its dated fossils, 174.7–125.8 million years ago (Omnisaura's calculation). Pale: the published range, 174.7–66 million years ago, which also counts records Omnisaura leaves out.

The last non-bird dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. That's as far from us as the end of this bar.

Named by
Whyte and Romano 1995
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Described in
M. A. Whyte, M. Romano (1995). Probable sauropod footprints from the Middle Jurassic of Yorkshire, England. Aspects of Sauropod Paleobiology. GAIA 10: 15–26.
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Whyte and Romano 1995).
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.

Type species
Deltapodus brodricki
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Dated to
Aalenian to Maastrichtian, 174.7–66 million years ago
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Omnisaura calculation174.7–125.8 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
mediummedium: Omnisaura's calculation from 22 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Found in
China
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).
Portugal
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (6 records).
Spain
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (13 records).
United Kingdom
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).
France
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
India
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
mixedmixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).

Rock formations
14, including Lourinhã, Villar del Arzobispo, Hutubihe and Saltwick
mixedmixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Show all 14, each with its confidence
Artoles
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).
Camarillas
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Hutubihe
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Lourinhã
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (6 records).
Saltwick
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Villar del Arzobispo
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).
El Castellar
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Huérteles
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Lameta
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Lealt Shale
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Magaña
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Scalby
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Tereñes
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Yanan
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.

Parent group
Stegosauria
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Known from
Footprints and traces
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).

Made by
Not known for certain. Footprints rarely show which animal made them.
Sources: Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0), Wikidata (CC0 1.0)Confidence levels and gaps are Omnisaura's own assessment.

Gaps are answers

What isn't known yet

  • The animal that made them: not known for certain, as for most footprint types.
  • Order: no source we use gives it yet.
  • Family: no source we use gives it yet.
  • Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
  • What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
  • Held back: 7 fossil records left out: identified only tentatively (for example "cf." or "?").
  • Resting on one source: 4 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): authority (PBDB); type species (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); age (headline) (PBDB).

Size, diet and behaviour aren't covered yet. Omnisaura leaves them out rather than guess.

Where sources disagree

None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.

Did it meet…?

?

No. Deltapodus had gone at least 42.2 million years before Tyrannosaurus appears in the fossil record.

Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.

Found in the same rocks

Genera and other fossil types from the same formations, from rocks of the same age.

DacentrurusLourinhasaurusTorvosaurusBrontopodusCeratosaurusTuriasaurusAllosaurusCaririchniumJialingpusKalohipusLosillasaurusLourinhanosaurusParabrontopodusAnomoepusAragosaurusAsianopodusand 7 more

Same parent group

Other genera in Stegosauria with a full profile.

GarbinaStegopodus

Credits

Where this page comes from

  • Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
  • WikidataCC0 1.0 · names and identifiers
  • OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps
  • PaleoMAP PaleoCoastlines (Kocsis and Scotese 2021)CC BY 4.0 · ancient coastlines on the small map
  • Natural EarthPublic domain · today's coastlines

Pictures linked from this page are credited beside each one, with their own licences; the full list is in the JSON download.