Palaeophycus, worm burrows. Occasionally branched, occupying horizontal bedding planes and infilled with the same material as the matrix characterize this ichnospecies. Massively bioturbated rocks such as these hint at the amount of life that was going on during the deposition of the Chalk Canyon Formation. It is unknown whether this worm burrowed mud was a subareal exposure or not, however we suspect it was just under the waters surface because mudcracks are found in the same beds. This pair shows in greater detail the highly bioturbated bedding planes found near New River in the formation.
Higher magnification shows trace fossils details.
This type of fossil is usually attributed to annelid worms ingesting sediment. This is by far the rarest fossil found, we have only encountered two sets to date in some hundred hours of exploration of promising beds. Obviously subareal exposure, this slab also contains mudcracks as well. Here we see two toes of a small mammal, perhaps some type of feline or canis species. Rhizomes - A very recent find here, along a roadcut along I17 near Black Canyon City.