Reviewed by Richard Lis (California Dept of Fish & Wildlife)

Leonardi, G. and I. de Souza Carvalho. 2021. Dinosaurs Tracks from Brazil: A Lost World of Gondwana. Indiana Univ. Press. ($59.50 cloth, $59.49 e-book with 30% discount.)

This is a beautiful book, expertly written, with incredible detail, and presented by two paleontologists with many years of experience working on the ichnofaunas of Brazil and especially the Rio do Peixe Basins (northeastern Brazil).

Chapter 1, (“Introduction”) presents an overview of the four sub-basins that comprise the Rio do Peixe Basins In its broad geographic setting in northeastern Brazil, the paleontological history of the basins, and the extensive research conducted by the two authors working in the basins for over 40 years. Chapter 2 (“The Methods”) expertly and concisely describes the measured parameters of tracks and track ways, and how they are measured in the field. Chapter 3 (“Geological Context of the Footprints”) has a well written description of the tectonic setting of the basins beginning in the late Permian and moving through time describing the likely development of the basins, including the petrology and geology of the sandstones. This chapter continues with a very interesting description of the co-occurring fossils of vertebrates, invertebrates, vascular plants, and palynomorphs. I was particularly impressed with the drawings of ostracods and conchostracans (clam shrimp), along with photographs of two conchostracans that have many living relatives today, which I have caught in ephemeral pools. One species they found Paleolimnadiopsis reali could reach 3.5 cm in length, which is astounding given most living species today barely exceed 1 cm. Being a botanist and paleobotanist, I was treated to nice descriptions of the fossil vascular plants that have been found, along with photographs of the fossils and reconstructions of the plants in habitat. The record of palynomorphs is extensive and many are illustrated and listed. Chapter 3 continues with excellent three-dimensional block diagrams of the Rio do Peixe basins that allow the reader to visualize the alluvial fans, flood plains, and temporary lake habitats where these track sites were formed. A very interesting discussion of the physical conditions necessary for footprint and trackway preservation is presented along with the interpretation of the characteristics seen in preserved track morphology. I found the discussion of the preservation of dinosaur tracks induced by microbial mats (pp. 71–73) particularly fascinating.

The heart of the book is Chapter 4 (“The Ichnofaunas of the Rio Do Peixe Basins and Their Trackmakers,” pp 81–266) which covers the three primary formations (Sousa Fm., 21 sites; Antenor Navarro Fm., 10 sites; and Rio Paranha Fm., 6 sites) in the basins where tracks have been preserved. Each site in each formation is fully described with accurate drawings and measurements of the trackways, along with analyses of the possible identities of the trackmakers. The photographs and drawings that accompany each site are well reproduced and allow the reader to see the trackway in the field and the analysis of the track morphology and follow the interpretive logic of the authors. The captions to the photographs and illustrations are detailed and documented as to location and identity. Many excellent reconstructions of the dinosaurs are presented in probable habitat conditions and serve to further illustrate points made throughout the book concerning dinosaur locomotion, behavior, site geology and geography of the Rio Do Peixe Basins. Well composed drawings accompany the photographs and photo-mosaics. These are so well done that this book could serve as a textbook for dinosaur trackway and track analysis for anyone working in the field. I was particularly struck by Figure 4.95 (p. 226) entitled “Mechanism of origin of a theropod track.” which contains four panels showing how the track is formed, the influence of microbial matting in preserving the track, and later calcification of the track leading to preservation. This figure is beautifully done in color and leads the reader to appreciate the various physical and biological factors that lead to a preserved track and trackway. This figure brought all the variables (encompassing geology, ecology, and biology) together and brought the tracks to life for me and made subsequent reading and following the authors interpretations even more interesting. 

Chapter 5, (“Data Tables and Statistics”) presents the foundational data and statistical analyses of the trackways and and covers nearly 100 pages. The diversity of data presented and analyzed for the varying trackways is clearly discussed and detailed. Here again, this chapter provides the necessary methods, analysis, and interpretations that would allow students or other workers to learn and carry out their own trackway analyses. The data sets presented in this chapter may be useful to those conducting functional morphological analyses of theropod movement that would not rely just on biology and physiology, but could include actual foot placement along with modeled substrate conditions.

Chapter 6, (“The Trackmakers of the Ichnofaunas of the Rio Do Peixe Basins”) takes the information in the preceding chapters and attempts to identify the trackmakers, and has many excellent photographs and reconstructions of the dinosaurs individually or in their habitat. Chapter 7 (“Behavior of the Rio Do Peixe Basins Dinosaurs”) synthesizes the tracks, trackways, and data analyses with further study of speed, gait, direction across the sites, and social behavior as can be gleaned from the data. Chapter 8 (“The Dinosaur Community”) increases the level of interpretation and brings the work together presenting a view of the dinosaur community. Chapter 9 (“Invertebrate Trails and Traces”) completes the community analysis with inclusion of the invertebrate ichnofossils, providing the final piece to the ecosystem description sought by the authors.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in dinosaur tracks and trackways and how they can be used to understand dinosaur locomotion, behavior, and social behavior. The book could be used as a textbook for the analysis of tracks and trackways and as a tutorial in application of the methods to field-collected data, hence valuable to anyone studying preserved trackways in the fossil record. The analysis of the taphonomy of tracks and trackways is well described and documented and valuable to understand how the authors reached their conclusions.