Climactichnites

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Climactichnites is a genus of trace fossil formed on sandy tidal flats in portions of Canada and northern United States during late Cambrian time. These fossils are trackways that usually consist of two parallel ridges separated by chevron-shaped raised cross bars. They somewhat resemble motorcycle tracks, and are larger (typically about four inches wide) than most of the other trace fossils made by invertebrates. While the identity of the animal is still conjectural, it may have been a large slug-like animal - its trackways produced as it crawled over and processed the wet sand to obtain food. Because of the distinctive appearance of these structures, the name Climactichnites is given not only to the trackways but also to the animal that made them.

[edit] References

• Yochelson, EL and MA Fedonkin. Paleobiology of Climactichnites, and Enigmatic Late Cambrian Fossil. Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology, number 74, 1993, pp. 1-74.