Ballroom Shallow, Deep, Baby Theropod tracks together, 2023
For photos of Ballroom photos from previous years, see:
http://paleo.cc/paluxy/ballroom/Ballroom Menu.htm
All photos and text (C) 2023 Glen J. Kuban
The photos below show an interesting set of tracks close together: a shallow, deep, and "baby" theropod track, alongside a juvenile sauropod track, occurring on the east central part of the site. Both adult theropod tracks were both made by similar sized feet (the deeper track only appears to have shorter toes due to mud-collapse over the ends of the digits). To encourage critical thinking, I like to ask visitors why one of the three-toed tracks would be much deeper than the other of similar size. The most common reply is that maybe the deeper one was made by a much heavier or "fatter" than the other. While there may have been some weight difference, this would not be the main reason one was much deeper than the other. A more plausible explanation is that the prints were made at slight different times (perhaps days apart), where the sediment was drier and firmer when the shallow print was made. Another possibility is that even if made the same time (or same day), perhaps some parts of the track surface were drier and firmer than others. That this is sometimes the case is demonstrated by tracks in the same trail, some of which are deep and others shallow, and which sometimes fade out within a step or two. However, it would be less likely for there to be a major difference in sediment consistency for two tracks side by side and made at the same time. Interestingly, a very similar set of tracks (shallow, deep, and baby) occur on the sough end of the site, among the many new prints found in 2023. Latex rubber molds were made of both sets.
The above discussion elates to one of the most common questions from visitors, which is "Can you tell how heavy a dinosaur was by the depth of its tracks?" In general the answer is no, since an animal of any size or weight can make a deep or shallow print depending on how soft the substrate is. Even an elephant will make shallow prints when walking on firm ground, while even a human or small animal can make deep tracks on very soft sediment. Of course, for a given consistency of sediment, a heavier animal will tend to make a deeper track than a lighter one.
