Trace fossils from Late Precambrian Carolina slate belt, south-central North Carolina

The volcanosedimentary sequence of the Carolina slate belt in south-central North Carolina was long thought to be unfossiliferous; however, the 5,484–7,315 meters of dominantly evenly bedded siltstones and mudstones have recently yielded body fossils of the late Precambrian Ediacarian fauna and a Middle Cambrian trilobite assemblage. Ongoing stratigraphic studies in the Carolina slate belt of southern North Carolina have now revealed trace fossils representing the ichnotaxa Gordia arcuata?, ?Helminthopsis sp., Monocraterion sp., Neonerites biserialis, N. uniserialis, ?Neonerites sp., Planolites beverlyensis, P. montanus, ?Planolites sp., Syringomorpha nilssoni?,? Tomaculum sp., Torrowangea sp., and three additional indeterminate ichnogenera. These trace fossils, lacking ornamentation and complex patterns, compare favorably with ichnofossil assemblages from Late Proterozoic stratigraphic sequences (Ichnofossil Zone I) elsewhere and support the late Precambrian age interpretation for the Carolina slate belt in south-central North Carolina.