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Lunulipes, a replacement name for the trace fossil Lunula Hitchcock, 1865, preoccupied

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2017

Patrick R. Getty
Patrick R. Getty*
Affiliation:
Center for Integrative Geosciences, University of Connecticut, 354 Mansfield Road, U-1045, Storrs, CT 06269, USA, 〈patrick.getty@uconn.edu〉
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Abstract

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Type
Taxonomic Notes
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 91 , Issue 3 , May 2017 , pp. 577
Copyright
Copyright © 2017, The Paleontological Society 

Edward Hitchcock (Reference Hitchcock1865) erected the ichnogenus Lunula with a single ichnospecies, L. obscura, for trackways (Fig. 1) that were discovered in the Lower Jurassic Turners Falls Formation of the Deerfield Basin in Massachusetts. As noted by Häntzschel (Reference Häntzschel1965), however, and reiterated by Anderson (Reference Anderson1981) later, Hitchcock’s application of that genus name to a trace fossil established an invalid junior homonym because Koenig (Reference Koenig1825) had previously used Lunula for a bryozoan. The junior homonym must be replaced under Article 60 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN, 1999). I propose the new ichnogenus name Lunulipes (from the Latin, lunula, moon or crescent, and pes, foot; meaning “crescent foot”) for Lunula Hitchcock, Reference Hitchcock1865, preoccupied. The name Lunulipes n. ichnogen. is justified because examination of all 11 trackways included within the ichnogenus indicates that it is distinct. A more thorough review of this taxon, including an analysis of proposed trackmakers, will be presented elsewhere. Since Lunulipes is masculine, the species name becomes obscurus in order to agree in gender with the new genus name. Thus, the new combination is Lunulipes obscurus.

Figure 1 Lunulipes obscurus new combination from the Lower Jurassic Turners Falls Formation of the Deerfield Basin in Massachusetts: (1) overview of a slab labeled ACM ICH 52/14, which is in the collection of the Beneski Museum of Natural History at Amherst College, which bears seven L. obscurus n. comb. in addition to ornithischian dinosaur tracks; (2) close-up of the boxed region labeled 2 in the slab overview showing a portion of the lectotype, designated by Rainforth (Reference Rainforth2005), with a medial drag; (3) close-up of the boxed region labeled 3 in the slab overview showing a trackway lacking a medial drag. Scale bars are 10 cm in (1) and 2 cm in (2) and (3).

References

Anderson, A.M., 1981, The Umfolozia arthropod trackways in the Permian Dwyka and Ecca Series of South Africa: Journal of Paleontology, v. 55, p. 84–108.Google Scholar
Häntzschel, W., 1965, Vestigia invertebratorum et problematica, in Westphal, F., ed., Fossilium Catalogus: Gravenhage, Junk, p. 1–140.Google Scholar
Hitchcock, E., 1865, Supplement to the Ichnology of New England: Boston, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston: Wright & Potter, State Printers, 96 p.Google Scholar
ICZN, 1999, International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (fourth edition): London, International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature, Natural History Museum, 306 p.Google Scholar
Koenig, C., 1825, Icones Fossilium Sectiles: Centuria Prima: London, Sowerby, 4 p., 19 pl.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rainforth, E.C., 2005, Ichnotaxonomy of the fossil footprints of the Connecticut Valley (Early Jurassic, Newark Supergroup, Connecticut and Massachusetts) [Ph.D. dissertation]: New York, Columbia University, 1301 p.Google Scholar
Figure 0

Figure 1 Lunulipes obscurus new combination from the Lower Jurassic Turners Falls Formation of the Deerfield Basin in Massachusetts: (1) overview of a slab labeled ACM ICH 52/14, which is in the collection of the Beneski Museum of Natural History at Amherst College, which bears seven L. obscurus n. comb. in addition to ornithischian dinosaur tracks; (2) close-up of the boxed region labeled 2 in the slab overview showing a portion of the lectotype, designated by Rainforth (2005), with a medial drag; (3) close-up of the boxed region labeled 3 in the slab overview showing a trackway lacking a medial drag. Scale bars are 10 cm in (1) and 2 cm in (2) and (3).