Omnisaura

Footprint type

Wintonopus

Thulborn and Wade 1984

Wintonopus 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 137.1–93.9 million years old in Australia.

Confidence labels
How sure are we?3 high6 medium1 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
137.1–93.9 Ma
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
252 million years ago20114366

Solid: the ages of its dated fossils, 137.1–93.9 million years ago (Omnisaura's calculation). Pale: the published range, 201.4–93.9 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
Thulborn and Wade 1984
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

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

Described in
R. A. Thulborn, M. Wade (1984). Dinosaur trackways in the Winton Formation (mid-Cretaceous) of Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 21(2): 413–517.
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Thulborn and Wade 1984).
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
Wintonopus latomorum
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

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

Dated to
Hettangian to Cenomanian, 201.4–93.9 million years ago
highhigh: PBDB and NHM agree.
Omnisaura calculation137.1–93.9 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
mediummedium: Omnisaura's calculation from 12 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources

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

Found in
Australia
highhigh: NHM and PBDB both record it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).

Rock formations
Winton Formation
highhigh: NHM and PBDB both record it.
Broome Sandstone
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (6 records).
Razorback Beds
lowlow: Only one PBDB record.
mixedmixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.

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

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

Species named in its records
Wintonopus latomorum, Wintonopus middletonae
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).

Older or other names
Skartopus (a junior synonym)
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database (names it treats as this genus).

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), 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.
  • 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.
  • Held back: 3 fossil records left out: identified only tentatively (for example "cf.", "?" or the name in quotation marks).
  • Resting on one source: 3 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): authority (PBDB); type species (PBDB); parent group (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. Wintonopus had gone at least 10.3 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 Wintonopus by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.

WintonopusFound in the same rocksSame parent groupAlso found in AustraliaWintonotitanDiamantinasaurusMegalosauropusSavannasaurusand 4 moreBurianosaurusDakotasaurusDinosauropodesHypsiloichnusand 1 moreAustralovenatorMuttaburrasaurusGarbinaWalmadanyichnusand 9 more

Found in the same rocks 8

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

WintonotitanDiamantinasaurusMegalosauropusSavannasaurusAustralovenatorGarbinaWalmadanyichnusYangtzepus

Same parent group: Ornithopoda 5

Other genera in Ornithopoda with a full profile.

BurianosaurusDakotasaurusDinosauropodesHypsiloichnusWalmadanyichnus

Found in Australia 13

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

WintonotitanDiamantinasaurusAustralovenatorMegalosauropusMuttaburrasaurusSavannasaurusGarbinaWalmadanyichnusWeewarrasaurusFostoriaGalleonosaurusQantassaurusYangtzepus

Credits

Where this page comes from

  • Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
  • Natural History Museum Data PortalCC0 1.0 · catalogued specimens
  • 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