Omnisaura
Demo

Footprint type

Dilophosauripus

Welles 1971

Dilophosauripus 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 205.7–184.2 million years old in France and the United States.

Confidence labels
How sure are we?0 high14 medium2 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
205.7–184.2 Ma
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
252 million years ago20114366

Solid: the ages of its dated fossils, 205.7–184.2 million years ago (Omnisaura's calculation). Pale: the published range, 205.7–165.3 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
Welles 1971
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

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

Described in
S. P. Welles (1971). Dinosaur footprints from the Kayenta Formation of northern Arizona. Plateau 44(1): 27–38.
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Welles 1971).
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
Dilophosauripus williamsi
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

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

Dated to
Rhaetian to Bathonian, 205.7–165.3 million years ago
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Omnisaura calculation205.7–184.2 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
mediummedium: Omnisaura's calculation from 13 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources

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

Found in
France
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (10 records).
United States
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).
Sources

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

Rock formations
Dolomitic
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Dolomitique
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).
Grès et Argilites bariolées
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Kayenta
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Moenave
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Calcaires à Stipites
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Grès d'Olemps
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
mixedmixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Sources

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

Footprint family
Grallatoridae
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

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

Parent group
Grallatoridae
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)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.
  • Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
  • What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
  • Resting on one source: 6 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): name (PBDB); authority (PBDB); type species (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); family (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. Dilophosauripus had gone at least 100.6 million years before Tyrannosaurus appears in the fossil record, a longer gap than the 66 million years between Tyrannosaurus and today.

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.

EubrontesGrallatorDilophosaurusScutellosaurusAnomoepusSyntarsusKayentapusAnchisauripusSarahsaurusSelenichnus

Same family

Other genera in Grallatoridae with a full profile.

AnchisauripusAtreipusBanisterobatesEubrontesGrallatorPengxianpus

Credits

Where this page comes from

  • Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
  • 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