Footprint type
Xiphopeza
Xiphopeza 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 201.4–192.9 million years old in the United States.
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- Named by
- Hitchcock 1848
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Described in
- E. Hitchcock (1848). An attempt to discriminate and describe the animals that made the fossil footmarks of the United States, and especially of New England. Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, new series 3: 129–256. Read it
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Hitchcock 1848).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
- Xiphopeza triplex
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Dated to
- Hettangian to Sinemurian, 201.4–192.9 million years ago
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Omnisaura calculation201.4–192.9 million years ago, from its dated fossil recordsmedium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 3 confirmed PBDB records.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Found in
- United States
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
- Rock formations
- Portland FormationTurners Falls
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).low
low: Only one PBDB record.mixed
mixed: 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
- Dinosauria
medium
medium: 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.
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: 5 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): name (PBDB); 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. Xiphopeza had gone at least 109.3 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.
Same parent group
Other genera in Dinosauria with a full profile.
Credits
Where this page comes from
- Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
- Natural History Museum Data PortalCC0 1.0 · catalogued specimens
- 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