Omnisaura

Footprint type

Barrancapus

Hunt et al. 1993

Barrancapus 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 227.3–205.7 million years old in the United States.

Confidence labels
How sure are we?0 high6 medium3 lowHow we rate confidence

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
227.3–205.7 Ma
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
252 million years ago20114366

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
Hunt et al. 1993
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Described in
A. P. Hunt, M. G. Lockley, S. G. Lucas (1993). Vertebrate and invertebrate tracks and trackways from Upper Triassic strata of the Tucumcari Basin, east-central New Mexico, USA. The Nonmarine Triassic. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 3: 199–201.
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Hunt et al. 1993).
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
Barrancapus cresapi
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Dated to
Norian, 227.3–205.7 million years ago
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Omnisaura calculation227.3–205.7 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
lowlow: Omnisaura's calculation from only 2 dated record(s).
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Found in
United States
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).

Rock formations
Bull Canyon Formation
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Chinle
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.

Parent group
Prosauropoda
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Species named in its records
Barrancapus cresapi
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), Natural History Museum Data Portal (CC0 1.0)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.
  • 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 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…?

?

No. Barrancapus had gone at least 122.1 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.

Connections

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

BarrancapusFound in the same rocksSame parent groupSame naming authorAlso found in United StatesCoelophysisKrzyzanowskisaurusKwanasaurusCamposaurusand 6 morePseudotetrasauropusAnasazisaurusArkansaurusCeratopsipesStegopodusand 2 moreGrallatorEubrontesEvazoumAnomoepusand 18 more

Found in the same rocks 10

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

CoelophysisKrzyzanowskisaurusKwanasaurusCamposaurusChindesaurusEosauropusEubrontesEucoelophysisGrallatorTawa

Same parent group: Prosauropoda 1

Other genera in Prosauropoda with a full profile.

Pseudotetrasauropus

Named by Hunt 6

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

AnasazisaurusArkansaurusCamposaurusCeratopsipesStegopodusTyrannosauripus

Found in United States 22

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

GrallatorEubrontesCoelophysisEvazoumAnomoepusEosauropusAnchisauripusAtreipusCoelurosaurichnusGregaripusKayentapusKrzyzanowskisaurusKwanasaurusPseudotetrasauropusArgoidesCamposaurusand 6 more

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