Protichnites
Sign in to saveProtichnites is an ichnogenus of trace fossil consisting of the imprints made by the walking activity of certain arthropods. It consists of two rows of tracks and a medial furrow between the two rows. This furrow, which may be broken, set at an angle, and of varying width and depth, is thought to be the result of the tail region contacting the substrate.
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7 sectionsContents
- The first footprints on land
- The ''Protichnites'' makers
- Behavior
- Relationship with ''Diplichnites''
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Protichnites is an ichnogenus of trace fossil consisting of the imprints made by the walking activity of certain arthropods. It consists of two rows of tracks and a medial furrow between the two rows. This furrow, which may be broken, set at an angle, and of varying width and depth, is thought to be the result of the tail region contacting the substrate.
==The first footprints on land== Sir Richard Owen, the noted British paleontologist and anatomist who coined the term “Dinosauria”, based Protichnites on trackways that were shipped to him from the Cambrian Potsdam Sandstone of Quebec. He was correct in recognizing that these were the oldest known footprints on land, having been produced in intertidal and supratidal environments during what would now be called Cambrian times.