2008 Joint Meeting of The Geological Society of America, Soil Science Society of America, American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies with the Gulf Coast Section of SEPM

Paper No. 11
Presentation Time: 8:00 AM-6:00 PM

Early- to Mid-Pennsylvanian Vertebrate Fauna of An Intermontane Basin Inferred from Tracks and Trackways of the Wamsutta Formation, Southeastern New England


KNECHT, Richard J. and BENNER, Jacob S., Tufts University, Department of Geology, Lane Hall, Medford, MA 02155, richardjknecht@gmail.com

Early- to mid-Pennsylvanian tracks and trackways of small, basal reptiles and amphibians have been recovered from the Wamsutta Formation, southeastern New England. Specimens from this site range from isolated tetradactyl and pentadactyl plantigrade, semi-plantigrade and digitigrade tracks to tetradactyl and pentadactyl manus and pedes arranged in quadrupedal trackways with and without tail drag marks. The tracks and trackways occur in an intermontane alluvial deposit and are associated with abundant plant fossils and trace fossils of insects and other invertebrates. The detailed preservation of these tracks and trackways allows for a preliminary assessment of vertebrate faunal diversity within an early- to mid-Pennsylvanian intermontane basin situated between well-known mid-Pennsylvanian sites in Appalachia to the south and Maritime Canada to the north.