Footprint type

Asianopodus

Matsukawa et al. 2005

Asianopodus 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 143.1–113.2 million years old in China, Japan and South Korea.

Confidence labels

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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 11 October 2026

143.1–113.2 Ma

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114366

Solid: the ages of its dated fossils, 143.1–113.2 million years ago (Omnisaura's calculation). Pale: the published range, 143.1–100.5 million years ago, which also counts records Omnisaura leaves out.

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: Matsukawa et al. 2005
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Described in: M. Matsukawa, K. Shibata, R. Kukihara, K. Koarai, M. G. Lockley (2005). Review of Japanese dinosaur track localities: implications for ichnotaxonomy, paleogeography and stratigraphic correlation. Ichnos 12(3): 201–222. Read it
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Matsukawa et al. 2005).
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.
Dated to: Berriasian to Albian, 143.1–100.5 million years ago
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Omnisaura calculation143.1–113.2 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
medium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 7 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Found in: China
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (6 records).
Japan
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
South Korea
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: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
Rock formations: Jianchuan
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Shengjinkou
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Hutubihe
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Jinju
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Kuwajima
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.
Footprint family: Eubrontidae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Parent group: Eubrontidae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Species named in its records: Asianopodus niui, Asianopodus pulvinicalx, Asianopodus robustus
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).
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)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.
Type species: no source we use gives it yet.
Order: 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.
Held back: 2 fossil records left out: identified only tentatively (for example "cf.", "?" or the name in quotation marks).
Resting on one source: 5 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): name (PBDB); authority (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); family (PBDB); age (headline) (PBDB).

Size and appearance aren't covered yet, and diet and way of life only as PBDB infers them for the wider group. Omnisaura leaves the rest out rather than guess.

Where sources disagree

None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.

Did it meet…?

Did Asianopodus meet ?

No. Asianopodus had gone at least 29.6 million years before Tyrannosaurus appears in the fossil record.

Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.

Connections

Genera linked to Asianopodus by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.

Found in the same rocks 7

Genera and other fossil types from the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.

Deltapodus Jialingpus Albalophosaurus Chapus Dromaeosauripus Eubrontes Grallator

Same family: Eubrontidae 4

Other genera in Eubrontidae with a full profile.

Chapus Jurabrontes Megalosauripus Megalosauropus

Named by Matsukawa 1

Genera whose naming authority includes the same surname. The authority has no initials, so different people who share a surname can appear together.

Toyamasauripus

Found in China 60

Other genera found in China, from rocks of overlapping age, the most fossil sites there first.

Psittacosaurus Grallator Brontopodus Eubrontes Microraptor Caririchnium Sinovenator Velociraptorichnus Minisauripus Sinornithosaurus Sinosauropteryx Wuerhosaurus Beipiaosaurus Bolong Caudipteryx Changpeipusand 44 more

Credits

Where this page comes from

Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
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