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New ichnotaxa from the tidal flat facies of the Cambrian Elk Mound Group, Wisconsin, USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 April 2026

Kenneth C. Gass Open the ORCID record for Kenneth C. Gass [Opens in a new window]  and
Nora Noffke
Kenneth C. Gass*
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Milwaukee Public Museum , Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233, USA
Nora Noffke
Affiliation:
Department of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Old Dominion University , Norfolk, Virginia 23321, USA
*
Corresponding author: Kenneth C. Gass; Email: gassk@mpm.edu
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Abstract

Cambrian tidal flat deposits of the Elk Mound Group at Blackberry Hill, Wisconsin, USA, provide some of the earliest body fossils of euthycarcinoids, phyllocarids, and scyphozoans. Also, some of the earliest evidence of animal activities on land, alongside a diverse ichnofauna, have been observed. Here we expand the ichnotaxonomic diversity of that site, emend the diagnosis of Protichnites, discuss the recent reinterpretation of Protichnites eremita, and establish Seilacherichnus new ichnogenus and Climactichnites blackberriensis new ichnospecies. What may be the first fossil evidence of an animal feeding on a scyphozoan at Blackberry Hill or equivalent Cambrian tidal flats is reported. Ichnotaxa not previously illustrated or described from Blackberry Hill include Siskemia isp., Diplopodichnus isp., Stiallia pilosa, and Cochlichnus? isp. This expansion of the ichnotaxonomic diversity observed in the Blackberry Hill strata further illustrates the early exploitation of tidal flats.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/f8c5d0a5-aa4d-4eb3-87dd-9bf44b4af8c3.

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Journal of Paleontology , First View , pp. 1 - 15
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© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Paleontological Society

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Footnotes

Handling Editor: Olev Vinn

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