TRACE FOSSILS IN FLUVIAL DEPOSITS OF THE UPPERMOST STOCKTON FORMATION (LATE TRIASSIC), WEST-CENTRAL NEW JERSEY

Fluvial deposits of the uppermost Stockton Formation (Late Triassic), Newark Basin, west-central New Jersey have yielded an assemblage of trace fossils. Dominated by burrows, specimens include Cochlichnus anguineus, Cruziana problematica, Helminthoidichnites tenuis, Helminthopsis isp., Planolites montanus, Scoyenia gracilis, Spongeliomorpha carlsbergi, Treptichnus bifurcus, Treptichnus pollardi, plant remains, and an undetermined vertebrate trace fossil. The assemblage belongs to the Scoyenia ichnofacies. On the basis of primary sedimentary structures and stratification, the beds are interpreted as deposits in a meandering stream environment. Worm-like forms, larval insects, and arthropods are probably responsible for most of the animal traces in moist or wet channel, floodplain, and point bar sediments subject to subaerial exposure.