A NEW LATE CARBONIFEROUS TRACE FOSSIL ASSEMBLAGE FROM THE WAMSUTTA FM. OF MASSACHUSETTS AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

A new late Carboniferous trace fossil assemblage has been discovered within the Wamsutta Fm. (Westphalian B to C) of the Narragansett Basin. Previous paleontological investigations of the Wamsutta have recovered sparse plant fossils. The 1929 unpublished thesis of Cleaves (Brown University) suggested the presence of amphibian trackways, which instigated a renewed paleontological and sedimentological investigation of the Wamsutta Fm. To date, field work has led to the recovery of vertebrate tracks and trackways as well as invertebrate tracks, trails, and full body impressions. In addition to trace fossils, two insect wing impressions have been found. The large number of specimens (~1000) recovered over a small area and short amount of time suggests the potential for more extensive discoveries within the Wamsutta Fm. The trace fossil assemblage is a composite Mermia - Scoyenia ichnofacies, and represents evidence of life in and around drying pools and ponds in an upland environment. This new fossil assemblage represents a view of Carboniferous life that contrasts with the tropical lowland "coal swamp" and expands our knowledge of paleoecological conditions and life in an unusual setting in the late Carboniferous.