Footprint type

Breviparopus

Dutuit and Ouazzou 1980

Breviparopus 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 161.5–149.2 million years old in Morocco and the United Kingdom.

Confidence labels

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How sure are we?0 high7 medium5 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

161.5–149.2 Ma

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114366

Solid: the ages of its dated fossils, 161.5–149.2 million years ago (Omnisaura's calculation). Pale: the published range, 174.7–149.2 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: Dutuit and Ouazzou 1980
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Described in: J.-M. Dutuit, A. Ouazzou (1980). Découverte d'une piste de Dinosaure sauropode sur le site d'empreintes de Demnat (Haut-Atlas marocain). Mémoires de la Société Géologique de France, Nouvelle Série 139: 95–102.
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Dutuit and Ouazzou 1980).
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: Breviparopus taghbaloutensis
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Dated to: Aalenian to Kimmeridgian, 174.7–149.2 million years ago
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Omnisaura calculation161.5–149.2 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
low
low: Omnisaura's calculation from only 1 dated record(s).
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Found in: Morocco
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
United Kingdom
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: Ich Timellaline/J’bel Bou Akrabène
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Iouaridène
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Lealt Shale
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
Footprint family: Parabrontopodidae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Parent group: Parabrontopodidae
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: Breviparopus taghbaloutensis
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), Wikidata (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.
Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
Held back: 5 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): authority (PBDB); type species (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 Breviparopus meet ?

No. Breviparopus had gone at least 65.6 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 Breviparopus 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 2

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

Boutakioutichnium Brontopodus

Same family: Parabrontopodidae 1

Other genera in Parabrontopodidae with a full profile.

Parabrontopodus

Found in Morocco 2

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

Boutakioutichnium Brontopodus

Credits

Where this page comes from

Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
WikidataCC0 1.0 · names and identifiers
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