Trace fossils in fluvial deposits of the uppermost Stockton Formation (Late Triassic), Newark Basin, New Jersey

Abstract

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, Helminthoidichnites tenuis, Planolites beverleyensis, 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 stratification and primary sedimentary structures, the beds are interpreted as deposits in a meandering stream environment. Larval insects, wormlike forms, and arthropods are probably responsible for most of the animal traces in wet or moist channel, floodplain, and point bar sediments subject to subaerial exposure.

Keywords:

• Stockton Formation
• Late Triassic
• nonmarine trace fossils
• Newark Basin
• New Jersey

Acknowledgments

I thank Feng Qi (Kean University) for her valuable technical help. I thank Spencer G. Lucas (New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science) and an anonymous reviewer for their constructive reviews that improved this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.