''Augerinoichnus'' (‘Augerino trace’) is a

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...

trace fossil A trace fossil, also called an ichnofossil (; ), is a fossil record of biological activity by lifeforms, but not the preserved remains of the organism itself. Trace fossils contrast with body fossils, which are the fossilized remains of part ...

that has been found in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, US. The trace fossil is a corkscrew-shaped burrow that, when partially eroded out at the surface, has the appearance of a set of

horseshoe A horseshoe is a product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human toenail, altho ...

-shaped imprints. It takes its name from the ''

augerino The augerino is a legendary creature present in the folk tales of lumberjack and ranching communities in the western United States.Carol Rose, ''Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend and Myth''. Norton, 2001, pp. 30-31. ...

'', a troublesome wormlike creature in New Mexico farming folklore that burrows into and drains irrigation ditches. The ichnogenus is unusual in being found in a

tidal flat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal ...

environment; most fossil burrows are characteristic of deeper water.

References

Trace fossils {{trace-fossil-stub