Omnisaura

Footprint type

Chapus

Li et al. 2006

Chapus 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 125.8–121.4 million years old in China.

Confidence labels
How sure are we?0 high5 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
125.8–121.4 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
Li et al. 2006
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

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

Described in
J.-J. Li, M. Bater, B.-L. Hu, L.-H. Gao (2006). A new type of dinosaur tracks from Lower Cretaceous of Chabu, Otog Qi, Inner Mongolia. Acta Palaeontologica Sinica 45(2): 221–234.
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Li et al. 2006).
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
Barremian, 125.8–121.4 million years ago
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Omnisaura calculation125.8–121.4 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
lowlow: Omnisaura's calculation from only 1 dated record(s).
Sources

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

Found in
China
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Sources

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

Rock formations
Jianchuan
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
Sources

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

Footprint family
Eubrontidae
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

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

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

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

Species named in its records
Chapus lockleyi
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.
  • 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…?

?

No. Chapus had gone at least 37.8 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 Chapus by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.

ChapusFound in the same rocksSame familySame naming authorAlso found in ChinaAsianopodusDromaeosauripusEubrontesGrallatorJurabrontesMegalosauripusMegalosauropusand 1 moreBaiyinosaurusCorpulentapusDendroolithusDromaeopodusand 4 morePsittacosaurusBrontopodusCaririchniumSinovenatorand 33 more

Found in the same rocks 4

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

AsianopodusDromaeosauripusEubrontesGrallator

Same family: Eubrontidae 4

Other genera in Eubrontidae with a full profile.

AsianopodusJurabrontesMegalosauripusMegalosauropus

Named by Li 8

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

BaiyinosaurusCorpulentapusDendroolithusDromaeopodusMacroelongatoolithusPrismatoolithusShenmuichnusSuzhousaurus

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