Inmontibusichnus, Knecht & Benner & Dunlop & Renczkowski, 2024

Knecht, Richard J., Benner, Jacob S., Dunlop, Jason A. & Renczkowski, Mark D., 2024, The largest Palaeozoic whip scorpion and the smallest (Arachnida: Uropygi: Thelyphonida); a new species and a new ichnospecies from the Carboniferous of New England, USA, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 200 (3), pp. 690-704 : 698

Inmontibusichnus igen.nov.

Ichnospecies

Inmontibusichnus charleshenryturneri isp.nov.

Diagnosis: Isolated, bilaterally symmetrical, epichnial trace with an elongate posterior impression, ovate-round in outline with a thin, elongate, singular, median impression extending posteriorly and four pairs (or evidence thereof) of laterally-projecting, anterior appendage imprints that obliquely diverge from the central axis

Etymology: In Montibus (Latin), among mountains. The name refers to the intermontane and upland depositional setting of the site and formation from which the fossil was collected.

Discussion: Inmontibusichnus is a monospecific ichnogenus. It is distinguished from similar ichnogenera Tonganoxichnus ( Mángano et al. 1997; emended Benner et al. 2015), Narragansettichnus ( Getty et al. 2017), and Hedriumichnus ( Braddy and Briggs 2002) by the number of paired, laterally oriented, anterior appendage imprints; four in Inmontibusichnus and three in all of the other aforementioned ichnogenera. Inmontibusichnus also differs from Alacranichnus ( Lucas et al. 2013) , an arthropod cubichnium, in that it is not associated with Stiaria nor does it have a curved posterior, which are defining characters of Alacranichnus . Another arthropod resting trace, Cheliceratichnus ( Dalman and Lucas 2015), interpreted as the full-body impression of a chelicerate arthropod, is partially defined by having a large rounded anterior segment with two pointed, anteriorly-projecting impressions separated by an indentation, characters radically different than those at the anterior of Inmontibusichnus .