Protichnites tracks from the late Cambrian of central Wisconsin

Protichnites is a genus of trace fossil consisting of the imprints made by the walking activity of arthropods. Trace fossils, also called ichnofossils (ˈɪknoʊfɒsɨl ιχνος or ikhnos meaning "trace" or "track" are geological records of biological Arthropods are Animals belonging to the Phylum Arthropoda (from Greek ἄρθρον arthron, " Joint " It is likely that more than one type of arthropod was responsible for these tracks. Euthycarcinoids, aglaspidids (see Aglaspida) and eurypterids are possible contributors. The Euthycarcinoids are a group of Amphibious freshwater arthropods that until recently were only known from the Carboniferous onwards The Aglaspida, more correctly termed Aglaspidida, were a group of small horseshoe crab-like Arthropods that were once regarded as basal or ancestral Horseshoe The eurypterids (sea scorpions include the largest known Arthropod that ever lived (with the possible exception of Arthropleuridae) Protichnites consists of two rows of tracks and a linear depression between the two rows. This depression, which may be broken, set at an angle, and of varying width and depth, is thought to be the result of a dragging tail. The structures bearing this name were typically made on the tidal flats of Paleozoic seas, but similar ones extend into the Cenozoic. The Paleozoic or Palaeozoic Era (from the Greek palaio (παλαιο "old" and zoe (ζωη "life" meaning "ancient life" The Cenozoic (also Caenozoic or Cainozoic) Era (ˌsiːnəˈzoʊɪk/ /ˌsɛn- (meaning "new life" ( Greek ( kainos) "new" Its occurrence in late Cambrian sandstones of Canada and northern United States is evidence of some of the first life on land. The Cambrian is a geologic period and system that began about Ma (million years ago at the end of the Proterozoic eon and ended about Ma with

References

• Hesselbo, SP. 1989. Trace fossils of Cambrian aglaspidid arthropods. Lethaia, 21:129-46.
• Hoxie, CT and JW Hagadorn. 2005. Late Cambrian arthropod trackways in subaerially exposed environments. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Northeastern Section. 37:12.
• Vaccari, NE, GD Edgecombe and C Escudero. 2004. Cambrian origins and affinities of an enigmatic fossil group of arthropods. Nature, 430:554-557.

External links

• Includes additional photographs and information on Protichnites from the exceptional Blackberry Hill localities; in Italian, but can be translated using Babel Fish.
• Discusses a major source of Protichnites tracks.

This arthropod-related article is a stub. Arthropods are Animals belonging to the Phylum Arthropoda (from Greek ἄρθρον arthron, " Joint " You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.