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

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 .