Chapus lockleyi

† Chapus lockleyi is an ichnospecies of small theropod footprints from the Early Cretaceous of China, named in honour of ichnologist Martin Lockley. The three-toed tracks are slender, indicating a lightly built cursorial predator such as a troodontid or small dromaeosaurid. Trackway spacing suggests a trotting gait. The discovery adds to the rich ichnological record of small coelurosaurs in early Cretaceous East Asia.

Diet & Feeding

Carnivore

Chapus lockleyi was a meat-eating predator. Carnivorous dinosaurs were active hunters or scavengers, equipped with sharp teeth and claws for catching and consuming prey. They occupied the top of the food chain in their ecosystems.

Time Period

Cretaceous Early Mesozoic Era

Chapus lockleyi lived during the Cretaceous Early period of the Mesozoic Era, approximately 145,0 to 100,5 million years ago.

The Cretaceous saw continued dinosaur evolution with the rise of ornithopods and early ceratopsians. Flowering plants first appeared and began to transform terrestrial ecosystems. Spinosaurus and other large theropods lived during this time.