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Trace fossils from the type ‘Etcheminian Series’ (Lower Cambrian Ratcliffe Brook Formation), Saint John area, New Brunswick, Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2009

H. J. Hofmann  and
I. M. Patel
H. J. Hofmann
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, CanadaH3C 3J7
I. M. Patel
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of New Brunswick, Saint John, New Brunswick, CanadaE2L 4L5
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Abstract

Selected trace fossils from the type section of the ‘Etcheminian Series’ at Hanford Brook are described and illustrated: Helmithoidichnites tenuis Fitch, Monocraterion sp., Palaeophycus tubularis Hall, Planolites sp., Psammichnites gigas Matthew, Subphyllochordra? sp., Taphrhelminthoida dailyi n. sp., and Taphrhelminthopsis cf. T. circularis Crimes et al. The assemblage has elements comparable to those in other Lower Cambrian sequences. It formed in shallow water settings, is mainly endichnial, and contains systematic, guided meander traces that are generally characteristic of deep-water environments in younger sequences; this may be related to global environmental changes early in the Palaeozoic. The guided meander traces are characterized morphometrically, using an image analyser: the meander systems exhibit a strongly bimodal distribution of morphologic elements, reflecting a well developed taxis (sense for position, direction, and distance) during trace production. The method of morphometric analysis has potential for characterizing trace fossils generally, somewhat like X-ray diffractograms characterize minerals.

Type
Articles
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 126 , Issue 2 , March 1989 , pp. 139 - 157
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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