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Footprint type

Sarmientichnus

Casamiquela 1964

Sarmientichnus 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 165.3–154.8 million years old in Argentina and China.

Confidence labels
How sure are we?0 high7 medium3 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
165.3–154.8 Ma
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
252 million years ago20114366

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
Casamiquela 1964
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

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

Described in
R. M. Casamiquela (1964). Estudios Icnológicos. Problemas y Métodos de la Icnología con Aplicación al Estudio de Pisadas Mesozoicas (Reptilia, Mammalia) de la Patagonia [Ichnological Studies. Problems and Methods of Ichnology with Application to the Study of Mesozoic Trackways (Reptilia, Mammalia) from Patagonia]: 1–229.
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Casamiquela 1964).
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
Sarmientichnus scagliai
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

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

Dated to
no earlier than 165.3 million years ago
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Omnisaura calculation165.3–154.8 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
lowlow: Omnisaura's calculation from only 2 dated record(s).
Sources

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

Found in
Argentina
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
China
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
La Matilde
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Luohe
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.

Parent group
Theropoda
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.
  • 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. Sarmientichnus had gone at least 71.2 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.

DelatorrichnusGrallatorWildeichnus

Same parent group

Other genera in Theropoda with a full profile.

AgeroolithusAnteavisBoutakioutichniumByakudansauropusCarmelopodusCorpulentapusDispersituberoolithusEutynichniumGypsichnitesHadrosaurichnusHispanosauropusIberosauripusIrenesauripusJialingpusKalohipusKayentapusand 17 more

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.