On the discovery of tetrapod trackways from Permo-Carboniferous redbeds of Prince Edward Island and their biostratigraphic significance

Auteurs-es

  • John H. Calder Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, P.O. Box 698, Halifax, NS, Canada B3J 2T9
  • Donald Baird Museum of Natural History, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA. Present address: 4 Ellsworth Terrace, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
  • Elliott B. Urdang 57 Dana Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02906, USA.

DOI :

https://doi.org/10.4138/1041

Résumé

The first fossil tetrapod footprints that were discovered on Prince Edward Island, and which were previously undescribed, are small reptilian trackways assignable to the ichnogenera Notalacerta andGilmoreichnus. Their closest zoological correlatives are small, Permo-Carboniferous "stem-reptiles" of the families Protorothyrididae and Captorhinidae in the suborder Captorhinomorpha, and pelycosauran reptiles, possibly of the Ophiacodontidae. Reptiles of this type are rare to unrepresented in the skeletal fauna of the province. The biochronology of the track-bearing bed, combined with terrestrial vertebrate, palynological and macrofloral records, suggest that the host Pictou Group redbeds on Prince Edward Island young from late Stephanian (Pennsylvanian) at Malpeque Bay to early Permian in the north. The combined discoveries of tetrapod footprints and trackways from these Permo-Carboniferous redbeds suggests that the record is potentially extensive. Now included in this record is the youngest known occurrence of the ichno-genus Notalacerta. RÉSUMÉ Les premières empreintes de fossiles de tétrapodes découvertes sur l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard, et précédemment non décrites, sont des traces d'un petit reptile qu'on peut rattacher aux ichnogenres Notalacerta et Gilmoreichnus. Leurs parents géologiques les plus proches sont les petits " reptiles-tiges » permocarbonifères des familles des protorothyridides et des captorhinides du sous-ordre des captorhinomorphes, ainsi que les reptiles pélicosauriens, possiblement les ophiacodontides. Les reptiles de ce type sont rares sinon absents au sein de la faune squelettique de la province. La biochronologie des strates renfermant des traces conjuguée aux relevés de vertébrés terrestres et aux relevés palynologiques et macrofloraux laisse supposer que les couches rouges hôtes du groupe de Pictou, sur l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard, remontent à la période du Stéphanien tardif (Pennsylvanien), dans la baie Malpeque, au Permien précoce, dans le nord. Les découvertes combinées d'empreintes et de traces de tétrapodes des couches rouges permocarbonifères semblent indiquer que la quantité d'enregistrements pourrait être vaste. Ces enregistrements comprennent désormais la manifestation la plus récente connue de l'ichnogenre Notalacerta [Traduit par la rédaction.]

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Publié-e

2004-10-10

Comment citer

Calder, J. H., Baird, D., & Urdang, E. B. (2004). On the discovery of tetrapod trackways from Permo-Carboniferous redbeds of Prince Edward Island and their biostratigraphic significance. Atlantic Geoscience, 40(2/3). https://doi.org/10.4138/1041

Numéro

Vol. 40 No. 2/3 (2004)

Rubrique

Articles

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