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Phycodes templus isp. nov. is described from siliciclastic turbidites o f the Wapske Formation of the Tobique Group (Lower Devonian) of northwestern New Brunswick, eastern Canada. The new ichnospecies is characterized by a minimum of two, more typically several, bundled sets o f essentially horizontal, broomlike or flabeliate, internally structureless, lined burrows. Burrow sets within an individual specimen are interconnected by a single tunnel to form an overall inverted pagoda shaped structure. The ichnotaxon is believed to have been produced by a vagile deposit feeder, most likely a worm-like organism.

The ichnogenus Helminthopsis Heer 1877 is a relatively simple, unbranched, horizontal, internally unstructured, pre-or postdepositional burrow, or trail, that follows an irregularly sinuous or more commonly an irregularly winding or meandering course. The geometric variation in course, its most significant ichnotaxobase, is invariably complex and has resulted in considerable taxonomic disorder, particularly at the ichnospecific rank. This confusion is compounded by the fact that no diagnoses, and, or, detailed descriptions of several of its historically defined ichnospecies were provided and for other ichnospecies such considerations are ambiguous.In view of these problems, the validity of the 21 previously described ichnospecies is reviewed and each taxonomically reassessed. We suggest that of these ichnospecies, H. regularte Crimes and Crossley 1991 is best regarded as a synonym of Cochlichnus anguineus Hitchcock 1858; H. irregularis (Schafhäutl 1851), H. antigua Sacco 1888 and H. curvala (Katto 1960) are synonyms of Helminthoida crassa Schafhäutl 1851; H. tunluensis Yang 1986 and H. yushuensis Yang 1986 are synonyms of Helminthoida miocenica Sacco 1886; H. akkesiensis (Minato and Suyama 1949) is a synonym of Helminthoida cf. miocenica; H. sinuosa Azpeitia Moros 1933 is a synonym of Cosmorhaphe sinuosa (Azpeitia Moros 1933); H. involuta Stefani 1895 and H. concentrica Azpeitia Moros 1933 are synonyms of Spirorhaphe involuta (Stefani 1895); H. horizontalis (Kern 1978) is a synonym of Phycosiphon incertum Fischer-Ooster 1858; H. magna Heer 1877 and H. intermedia Heer 1877 are synonyms of Scolicia Quatrefages 1849, namely Scolicia plana Książkiewicz 1970 or Scolicia prisca Quatrefages 1849 for the former and S. prisca the latter; H. barbeyana Stefani 1895 and H. labyrinthica Heer 1877 are. best considered nomina nulla and H. toyoensis Katto 1964 and H. sigmoideus Wang 1989 are nomina dubia. Of the remaining 4 ichnospecies of Helminthopsis, H. granulata Książkiewicz 1968 is easily and readily distinguished by its external granulate or tuberculate ornamentation. However, H. abeli Książkiewicz 1977, H. hieroglyphica Heer in Maillard 1887 and H. tenuis Książkiewicz 1968 cannot easily be differentiated. For these more problematic ichnospecies, a frequency component analysis using a FORTRAN program to perform a Fourier transform algorithm was applied in an attempt to statistically assess their validity or otherwise. The results suggest that H. tenuis is best considered a synonym of H. abeli, whereas H. hieroglyphica, although historically poorly defined, should still be regarded as a valid ichnospecies.Thus, we believe that of the many ichnospecies previously assigned to Helminthopsis, only 3, namely H. abeli, H. granulata and H. hieroglyphica, can be regarded as taxonomically valid and useful forms. H. granulata is characterized by its external ornamentation and the precise nature of its irregular course is not an essential ichnotaxobase. H. abeli should be adopted for irregularly meandering Helminthopsis that do not e...

The Low er Devonian Wapske Formation o f the Tobique Group in the Perth-Andover/M ount Carleton region, northw estern N ew Brunsw ick, forms part o f the tectonostratigraphic Tobique Zone. In this area, the formation, 4000 to 9000 m thick, is interpreted to com prise seven regionally recognizable sedimentary facies. These are: conglomerate facies (Facies 1), massive and parallel-laminated sandstone facies (Facies 2), thin-to thick-bedded sandstone w ith minor mudstone interbeds and/or mud-capped facies (Facies 3), thin-bedded sandstone and mud stone facies (Facies 4), thin-bedded, graded, fine-grained sandstone facies (Facies 5), very thin-bedded, fine grained sandstone and silty m udstone facies (Facies 6), and thin-and m edium -bedded siltstone and m udstone facies (Facies 7).The absence o f unequivocal shallow-water sedimentary structures, depositional cycles and in situ body fos sils in these lithofacies and, instead, the presence o f Boum a depositional sequences and deep-water trace-fossil associations, is supportive o f a deep-m arine origin (below storm -w ave base) for the Wapske Form ation in the study area. Accordingly, the facies are grouped into five facies associations interpreted to reflect a deep-marine fan system comprising distributary channels, depositional lobes, lobe or fan fringes, and interchannel areas asso ciated with a basin plain.Regional considerations suggest that the Wapske Formation records a transition from shallow-water marine, locally terrestrial, deposition to the east and southeast o f the study area, to deep-w ater deposits, as described herein, to the w est and northw est in the Perth-Andover/M ount Carleton region.La formation du Devonien inferieur Wapske du groupe de Tobique dans la region de Perth-Andover / du mont Carleton, dans le nord-ouest du Nouveau-Brunswick, fait partie de la zone tectonostratigraphique de Tobique. On interprete la formation de 4 000 a 9 000 m d'epaisseur de ce secteur comme un ensemble de sept facies sedimentaires regionalem ent reconnaissables, notam m ent : un facies de conglom erats (facies 1); un facies de gres m assif en feuilles paralleles (facies 2); un facies de gres mince a epais avec petite quantite de mudstones interstratifies ou couronne de boue (facies 3); un facies de gres et de mudstones finem ent stratifies (facies 4); un facies de gres a grain fin grano-classe et tres finement stratifie (facies 5); un facies de mudstones vaseux et de gres a grain fin tres finem ent stratifies (facies 6); ainsi qu'un facies de mudstones et de microgres finem ent a moyennement stratifies (facies 7). L'absence de structures sedimentaires univoques en eau peu profonde, de cycles sedimentaires et de fossiles massifs sur place a l 'interieur de ces lithofacies et la presence, plutot, des sequences sedimentaires de Boum a et d iss o c ia tio n s d 'em preintes fossiles en eau profonde appuient l'hypothese d 'une origine marine profonde (sous l'onde de tem pete) dans le cas de la formation Wapske, dans le secteur etudie. En consequence, les facies sont re...

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