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.
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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
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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
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