Article: Arthropleura trails from the Westphalian of eastern Canada

The trace fossil Diplichnites cuithensis Briggs, Rolfe and Brannan, 1979 is described from the Tynemouth Creek Formation of southern New Brunswick, and is interpreted as a trail of the giant Carboniferous myriapod Arthropleura. The arthropod was weaving through a forest of calamites which formed a single species stand on a sheetflood deposit in an alluvial fan environment. Comparison with other Arthropleura trails suggests that, in this case, drier conditions prevailed, supporting the interpretation of an essentially terrestrial habit for the arthropod. This trail is the first of Arthropleura to be described in detail from North America, and provides evidence that the myriapod's mode of turning was similar to that of modern myriapods, and unlike trilobites. The ichnogenus Diplichnites should not be applied to trilobite trails.