Could stegosaurs swim? Suggestive evidence from the Middle Jurassic tracksite of the Cleveland Basin, Yorkshire, UK

Ichnological evidence from the Ravenscar Group (Middle Jurassic) of Yorkshire reveals a distinctive type of swimming track associated with walking tracks of the ichnogenus Deltapodus . The morphology of the prints suggests that both track types were made by the same type of animal. Since Deltapodus is interpreted as having been made by a stegosaur, the associated footprints suggest that stegosaurs could swim. This has significant implications for their palaeobiology and dispersal. The swimming prints are assigned to the ichnotaxon Characichnos isp.