Discovery and paleoenvironmental implications of a Zoophycos-group trace fossil (?Echinospira) from the Middle Pennsylvanian Sydney Mines Formation of Nova Scotia

Authors

  • Duncan Mcllroy Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, A1B 3X5, Canada <dmc@esd.mun.ca>
  • Howard Falcon Lang Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK <howard.falcon-lang@bris.ac.uk> *Corresponding author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4138/2154

Abstract

The discovery of a Zoophycos-group trace fossil questionably attributed to Echinospira is reported from the Middle Pennsylvanian Sydney Mines Formation of Nova Scotia. Zoophycos-group trace fossils are composed of a central axis from which helicoidally arranged sheets of spreite emanate, giving the appearance of stacked cones. Such traces are commonly reported from marine paleoenvironments throughout the Phanerozoic. This occurrence, the first of its kind in the Maritimes Basin, provides further evidence for marine influence during the deposition of these dominantly terrestrial coal-bearing successions. RÉSUMÉ On signale la découverte d’un ichnofossile du groupe Zoophycos rattaché de façon douteuse à Échinospira dans la formation du Pennsylvanien moyen de Sydney Mines, en Nouvelle-Écosse. Les ichnofossiles du groupe Zoophycos sont constitués d’un axe central duquel émanent des feuilles de spréite disposées de façon héliocoïdale leur conférant l’aspect de cônes étagés. Ces ichnofossiles sont communément signalés dans les paléoenvironnements marins du Phanérozoïque. La présence de cet ichnofossile particulier, premier du genre dans le bassin des Maritimes, fournit une autre preuve de l’influence marine pendant la sédimentation de ces successions carbonifères en prédominance terrestres. [Traduit par la rédaction]

Downloads

Published

2006-04-01

How to Cite

Mcllroy, D., & Lang, H. F. (2006). Discovery and paleoenvironmental implications of a Zoophycos-group trace fossil (?Echinospira) from the Middle Pennsylvanian Sydney Mines Formation of Nova Scotia. Atlantic Geoscience, 42(1). https://doi.org/10.4138/2154

Issue

Vol. 42 No. 1 (2006)

Section

Articles

License

All material contained in Atlantic Geology is copyrighted by the journal. Permission to photocopy for internal or personal use or for the internal or personal use of specific clients is granted by Atlantic Geology to libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), provided that the stated fee per copy is paid directly to the CCC, 21 Congress Street, Salem, Massachusetts 01970 USA. Other requests should be addressed to one of the journal editors, or sent to Atlantic Geology, Box 116, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, Canada B4P 2R6. Permission to use a single graphic for which Atlantic Geology owns copyright is considered “fair dealing” under the Canadian Copyright Act and “fair use” by the journal, and no other permission need be granted, subject to the image being appropriately cited in all reproductions. The same fair dealing/fair use policy applies to sections of text up to 100 words in length.