2012/11/01 by George Mustoe, David S. Tucker, KEITH L. KEMPLIN · 2 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Ichthyology and Marine Biology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2012.01195.x
openalex publication_date 2012/11/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Abstract. Tridactyl bird footprints preserved in Lower Eocene sandstone of the Chuckanut Formation in Whatcom County, Washington, USA, were made by a species of giant ground bird that walked along the subtropical lowland riverbank. The morphology and age of the tracks suggest the track maker was Diatryma (? = Gastornis ). Although these birds have long been considered to be predators or scavengers, the absence of raptor‐like claws supports earlier suggestions that they were herbivores. The Chuckanut tracks are herein named as Rivavipes giganteus ichnogenus and ichnospecies nov., inferred to belong to the extinct family Gastornithidae.