PRELIMINARY RESEARCH ON THE PECULIAR TAPHONOMY OF THE LATE CRETACEOUS LAIYANG HADROSAUROID FAUNA IN SHANDONG
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Abstract:
In recent years，five fossil-bearing layers，which mainly contain abundant dinosaur fossils，are found in the massive excavations at Locality 2 of Laiyang，Shandong Province．It is east of theLocality 1(Young’s Tsintaosaurus quarry)．The main fossils are hadrosaurids，some of which would be referred to Saurolophinae，with some bones of Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus(Lambeosaurinae)．The hadrosaurid elements can be assigned to an assu-med adult，subadult，and late juvenile individuals according to their size．These fossil-bearing layers are mainly grey-green or red-brown mudstones．The fossil in these layers are interpreted as having been carried by debris flows and deposited．This indicates two different taphonomic modes．Alive hadrosaurids were swallowed and torn by a sudden debris flow，and the carcasses were carried a short distance and quickly buried．The fossils in this layer are complete but disarticulated，and the ones belonged to a same individual are sited in a small area．The carcasses，natural death or killed by flood or debris flows，which were exposed on the floodplain，were rotted，and broken as fragments by the debris flows during the final burial．The fossils in this layer are mixed by the complete and fractured bones．The taphonomic feature of these fossil-bearing layers indicates that there was a fauna，which was dominated by various hadro- saurids，that lived nearby the lake or river．After the late juvenile individuals joined into the adult groups，the mass mortality，which were caused by the debris flows，killed and quickly buried the fauna．
