Triassic tetrapod ichnofossils from Italy: the state of the art

We provide here the most complete census of the Italian Triassic tetrapod ichnosites ever published based on an extensive literature review, integrated with previously unpublished data. Most ichnosites are located in the Southern Alps but track-bearing localities are also described in the Western Alps, in Northern Apennines, Maritime Alps and in Sardinia. The chronostratigraphic distribution of the tetrapod footprints can be framed in two macro-sets of ichnoassociations. A first set ranges from the upper Lower Triassic (Olenekian) to the Middle Triassic (upper Anisian, Illyrian) where ichnoassociations are dominated by lizard-like footprints (e.g. Rhynchosauroides isp.), with gradual increase through time of footprints referable to archosauriforms (e.g. chirotheriid footprints). After a hiatus extending up to the basal part of the Carnian (basal Julian), a second set of ichnoassociations spreads the whole Upper Triassic. This second set is dominated initially by chirotheriid footprints but, it shows a shift to dinosaur footprints dominance in correspondence with the abrupt global climate perturbation of the Carnian Pluvial Episode.