Middle Jurassic dinosaur footprints from the Serras de Aire and Candeeiros

The Dinosaur Footprints Natural Monument of Ourém/Torres Novas, known as Galinha quarry, and the Vale de Meios quarry, are located in the Serras de Aire e Candeeiros Nature Park (Central Portugal). They are two geosites, duly geoconserved, of recognized international scientific value, due to the exceptional age, size, and quality of preservation of ichnites. Both quarries are located in limestones of the Serra de Aire Formation (Bathonian, Middle Jurassic) (Azerêdo, 2007). The Galinha quarry preserves 20 trails with sauropod footprints, in an excellent state of conservation, and it is possible to observe finger marks and a ridge formed by the sediment that was removed under the weight of the animal. This deposit has some of the oldest and longest sauropod tracks known in the world (up to 147 m long), which provide a dynamic image of the locomotion of these sauropods (Santos et al., 2009). The Vale de Meios quarry preserves more than 700 theropod tracks. They are organized in at least 80 unidirectional trackways, arranged in a bimodal orientation pattern (W/NW and E/SE). Paleoenvironmental studies in this quarry indicate an inter-tidal flat located at the margin of a coastal barrier (Razzolini et al., 2016).