Probable relationships between the lower Jurassic crocodilomorph trackways Batrachopus and Selenichus: Evidence and implications based on new finds from the St. George area southwestern Utah

The enigmatic ichnogenus Selenichnus (Hitchcock, 1858) from the Lower Jurassic of Massachusetts and Utah may represent poorly preserved, extramorphological examples of Batrachopus. Selenichnus trackways from the St. George area (Utah) are virtually indistinguishable from the type material described by Hitchcock (1858) and Lull (1953) from Massachusetts. However, Selenichnus type specimens from Massachusetts, as well as the material from Utah, suggest a relationship with Batrachopus: The former track morphology appears to transform into the latter as preservational conditions change. The size and gait indicated by the two ichnogenera are similar. The suggested relationship between the two ichnogenera does not alter the fact that there are distinct differences in the morphology of the type specimens. Thus, pending discovery of more material, formal synonymy of the two ichnogenera is not formally proposed.