TRACE FOSSIL

•What is Ichnology?
The Record of Life on Earth
The organisms which inhabited the Earth are
sometimes preserved in the rock as fossils.
In addition, the presence of organisms can be
recorded through marks they leave in sediment as a
result of their activities:
tracks
trails
footprints
burrows
Geologists call these features trace fossils or
ichnofossils.
The study of trace fossils is called ichnology.
Ichnology is the study of plant and animal traces.
Implicit to this definition is that the traces made by
plants and animals reflect some sort of behavior.

Ichnology can be divided into two major

subdivisions: paleoichnology (the study of ancient
traces) and neoichnology (the study of modern
traces)
 One single animal can make thousands
and thousands of traces in its lifetime, but
it will only leave behind one body when it
dies.
 Because of this, trace fossils are much
more common than body fossils
 There are two main types of fossils: body
fossils and trace fossils.

Body fossils include any part of the actual

animal or plant. Things like bones, teeth, shells,
and leaves are considered body fossils (an
actual body part of an ancient organism, which
includes any casts or molds that were made of
the dead body).
Trace fossils give us proof of animal life from
the past. Trace fossils include things like foot
prints, burrows, and fossilized poop. (any
indirect evidence of ancient life that reflects
some sort of behavior)
Paleontology is the study of ancient life,
which means that it can include both the
study of trace fossils and body fossils.
The study of trace fossils is specifically
called paleoichnology.
The advantages are:
 Long Time Ranges - Certain trace fossils, because they
were made by similar organisms with similar behavior,
have much longer time ranges than most body fossils.
Because these trace fossils are useful as environmental
indicators for broader periods of time, they are more
likely encountered than some body fossils.
 Abundance - One animal, especially if mobile, can make
many traces during its lifetime, whereas it may or may
not have its body preserved in the fossil record. Trace
fossils made by most organisms should be more abundant
than body fossils of the organisms themselves.
 Common In-situ Occurrence - Unlike body fossils,
trace fossils are very rarely transported out of their
original substrate. In the majority of cases, trace fossils
represent behavior that occurred exactly where you find
them.
 Preservation Potential - Trace fossils are common in
clastic sedimentary rocks that are normally lacking body
fossils. This phenomenon is largely a result of poor
preservation potential for body fossils in such a medium,
whereas trace fossils are preserved or (in some cases)
enhanced in these rocks.
 Excellent Environmental Indicators - Because
behavior is often influenced by environmental factors,
trace fossils provide important clues to the original
conditions of ancient environments. Environmental
factors reflected by trace fossils include salinity, oxygen
levels, energy, organismal interactions, and food
supplies.
Disadvantages are relatively fewer than their
advantages but mainly center on the fact that
one trace maker can make many different traces
or many different trace makers can make the
same trace.
Because of these considerations, most trace
fossils have limited value for biostratigraphy.
The types of trace fossil:

Track: an impression made by a single foot.

Trackway: a number of tracks made during a single
trip.
Trail: an impression made by an animal without legs.
Burrows: a hole or holes an animal dug into loose
sediment
Borings: a hole or holes an animal dug into a hard
substrate
Eggs: shells that at one time would have contained
babies
Nests: the babies would have been kept in.
Coprolites: poop that has become fossilized
 Burrows are excavations made into an unconsolidated
substrate.
 Tracks are imprints on a sediment surface by an animal
with legs.
 Trails are imprints on a sediment by a legless animal
dragging its body across a surface.
 Borings are excavations made into a consolidated
substrate, which could include rock or wood.

Burrows, tracks, and trails are examples of biogenic

sedimentary structures (structures made in an
unconsolidated substrate);
Borings are examples of bioerosion structures.
 Another type of trace fossil is
biostratification, which can be represented
by stromatolites or biogenic graded
bedding.
 Stratification refers to the layering of
sediments, hence biostratification is
layering caused by organisms.
 Stromatolites are biogenic sedimentary
structures formed by sediment binding
and trapping in cyanobacterial or algal
colonies.
 Biogenic graded bedding is bedding where
organisms mixed the larger particles to
the bottom of a sedimentary profile,
causing a gradual decrease in particle size
upward.
 Fossilized feces are called coprolites;
these are also trace fossils.
 Coprolites are valuable clues to the
paleodiet of extinct organisms and provide
additional information to paleontologists
interested in reconstructing ecosystem
relationships of fossil plants and animals.
 Lastly, eggs and nests are indirect
evidence of reproductive behavior and
their fossilized equivalents are also
considered as trace fossils.

 Although some dinosaur eggs have

preserved remains of embryos (which are
body fossils), the egg itself is a trace
fossil.
 Biogenic Structures
A biogenic structure is a feature caused
by an organism while it was still living.
This definition effectively separates a
biogenic structure from a structure made by
the body of a dead organism (such as a
drag mark, cast, or mold).
 Biogenic structures can be classified on the basis
of their behavioral association.
These behavioral modes represent basic biological
functions that are nearly universal to multicellular
organisms, such as feeding, dwelling, and
locomotion.
Multiple or overlapping types of behavior can be
interpreted from one trace, but the classification
is generally applied to the predominant motive of
the organism.
For example, a snail might be moving across a
surface, hence you would label its behavioral
mode as locomotion. However, if the surface has
a wonderfully delicious film of organic scum that
the snail is consuming as it moves, then the
primary purpose for movement was feeding.
 Different behavioral modes for biogenic
structures were assigned categories by
Seilacher (1953).
 These categories reflect Latinized names
that were meant to standardize the
categories; all have the suffix "ichnia" to
indicate that they represent traces of the
behavior
The diagram shows the interrelationships of the different behavioral
modes, their Latinized names, and explanations of each mode. This
diagram is modified after Pemberton et al. (1992).
 The types of animal behaviour can be broken up into six
broad groups:
Dwelling: the animal built the trace and then used it as
a home.
Resting: the animal simply "took a break".
Feeding: the animal made temporary burrows that it
stayed in while it was feeding.
Farming: the animal made burrow systems that have
regular patterns. The animal lived in the burrow
permanently and farmed for food.
Locomotion: trackways and trails made by animals "on
the move" - traveling from one place to another.
Escape: the animal was trying to escape its home and
moved up or down in the sediment very quickly.
Because trace fossils are not actual organisms or
parts of organisms, they cannot be given Linnaean
names recognized by the ICZN (International
Committee on Zoological Nomenclature) as
organisms.
 Nevertheless, morphologically distinctive trace fossils are
given genus and species names by ichnologists for the
sake of international communication.
 For example, a simple, unbranched, unlined, horizontal
burrow might be given the name Planolites, and
varieties of that same basic morphology can be identified
as "species" under that same "genus" name (e.g.,
Planolites montanus).
 To avoid confusion with binomial nomenclature used in
naming body fossils, trace fossils are named as
ichnogenera (plural of ichnogenus) and ichnospecies.
 the ichnogenus name can not be expected to reflect a
specific trace maker.
 Consequently, a trilobite trackway may have been made
by a species of the trilobite Isotelus, but the trilobite
trackway itself might be called Cruziana.
 When you recall that one of the disadvantages of trace
fossils is that the same trace fossil could have been
made by many organisms, think of the difficulty of trying
to match every Cruziana with each of the hundreds of
trilobite genera. Even dinosaur tracks can rarely be
matched with a specific dinosaur; most ichnologists are
satisfied enough to say that certain trackways were
made by sauropods or theropods.
 ICHNOFACIES
 Basic Definition of Ichnofacies

 Assemblages of trace fossils, in association with body

fossils and lithologic information, provide excellent clues
to parameters of ancient environments.
 This use of all preserved aspects of an ancient
sedimentary deposit for interpreting its original
environment of deposition is called facies analysis.
 If dealing simply with the trace fossils in a sedimentary
deposit, you would be interested in describing its
environmentally related and contemporaneous trace
fossils; in a modern environment, this assemblage is an
ichnocoenose.
 The preserved record of the original ichnocoenose is an
ichnofacies
 These ichnofacies, their general environmental association,
and representative ichnogenera are (from Pemberton et al.,
1992):
Trypanites - lithified marine substrates.
Entobia
Gastrochaenolites
Trypanites
Teredolites - marine or marginal marine woody substrates.
Teredolites
Scoyenia - nonmarine substrates.
Ancorichnus
Cruziana
Scoyenia
Skolithos
Skolithos - high energy, shallow marine substrates.
Diplocraterion
Monocraterion
Ophiomorpha
Skolithos
Cruziana - lower energy, circalittoral marine substrates.
Arenicolites
Aulichnites
Cruziana
Planolites
Teichichnus
Thalassinoides
Glossifungites - firm (but unlithified) marine substrates.
Gastrochaenolites
Psilonichnus
Rhizocorallium
Skolithos
Thalassinoides
Psilonichnus - supralittoral, moderate to low energy (beach to
backshore).
Psilonichnus
Macanopsis
Zoophycos - circalittoral to bathyal, low energy, marine substrates.
Phycosiphon
Spirophyton
Zoophycos
Nereites - bathyal to abyssal, low energy, marine substrates.
Cosmoraphe
Lorenzinia
Nereites
Paleodictyon
 Applications of Ichnofacies
 The ichnofacies concept has been applied to petroleum
exploration as an aid to interpreting depositional
environments.
 The interpretation of sedimentary environments helps to
assess potential petroleum reservoirs and source rocks
on the basis of stratigraphic architecture; laterally
adjacent facies succeeding one another vertically
(Walther's Law) can be better discerned if the facies are
distinctive and identifiable.
 Trace fossil assemblages provide an excellent
supplementary tool for facies analysis, especially when
body fossils are lacking.
 A promising area for future applications of
ichnofacies in facies analysis is in hydrogeology
and other aspects of environmental geology.
 Hydrogeologists often must approximate many
of the same parameters (porosity, permeability,
facies architecture) sought by petroleum
geologists, hence ichnofacies present another
important set of data for these geoscientists
 Trace Fossils and Burrows
 Burrows are a type of trace fossil found commonly in
sedimentary rocks.
 They represent the activity of an organism within the
sediment, after the sediment has been deposited.
Because of this temporal relationship, burrows normally
cross-cut other deposition-related sedimentary structures
like bedding and laminations.
 In some areas, burrowing is so extensive that the
sedimentary bedding is pervasively disrupted. The
process of disruption of deposition-related sedimentary
structures is known as bioturbation.
 Burrow morphologies are amazingly diverse, and include
a variety of wall structures (layered, packed with fecal
pellets, lined with mud or sand), sediment infill (sorted
or not sorted, similar or different grainsizes), and many
geometries (branched tubes, subhorizontal and/or
subvertical orientation, curved tubes, U-shaped tubes,
mesh geometries, cone-shaped, etc.).
 Geometries composed of cylindrical shapes are by far
the most common (e.g., a burrow may be branched, but
segments will most often be cylindrical).
Thalassinoides sp. burrow.
A type of dwelling burrow (domichnia)
common in shelf marine environments.
This type of burrow is probably produced
by a lobster, crayfish, or other type of
burrowing crustacean, as indicated by
similar modern burrows and occasional
preservation of the crustacean within the
burrow as a body fossil.
This specimen is from the Upper
Cretaceous Bad Heart Formation in
Alberta.
Ophiomorpha sp. burrow.
Another type of burrow
produced by crustaceans.
Note the angular junction
between segments of the
burrow.
From the Upper Cretaeous
Semilla Sandstone, New
Mexico, U.S.A.
TRACKS
 A track is any marking or impression made in a
substrate by the foot or hand of an animal.
Opinions vary on how many tracks constitute a
trackway, but for our purposes
 Substrates for track preservation vary
considerably but most tracks are formed in
unconsolidated sediments and fossil examples
show the same preservational bias.
 Exceptions include crushing of hard substrates
by the feet of heavy animals (i.e., dinosaurs that
stepped on bivalve shells or bones) or claw
marks left in wood
 Tracks made by vertebrates can be classified on the
basis of whether they were made by bipedal (two-
legged) or quadrupedal (four-legged) animals.
 Bipedalism typically involves movement from one
opposite foot to another (right to left or left to right),
whereas quadrupedalism can use any variation of four
limbs (two right and two left) moving in harmony.
 The order of foot placement is determined by the
behavior of the animal, depending on whether it is
walking, trotting, bounding (hopping), or galloping, as
well as which direction it is moving.
TRAILS
 A trail is an impression made on a surface by the body
of a limbless animal.
 Common usage of the term "trail" implies that it is a
synonym of "trackway" or that a well-worn path in a
terrestrial ecosystem is a trail (as in a "game trail," made
by game animals).
 The surficial aspect of a trail is also distinctive from a
burrow, which represents an excavation into a sediment,
rather than the displacement or compaction of
sedimentary grains on a surface.
 A trail does not necessarily have to form on an exposed
surface; some trails follow horizontal bedding planes
within a sedimentary pile, hence these are called
intrastratal trails.
 Trails that formed on an exposed surface are called
epistratal trails.
BURROWS
 A burrow is any biogenic structure that involves
excavation of an unconsolidated (nonindurated)
substrate by an organism; the process of forming a
burrow by an organisms is burrowing but is also
generally called bioturbation (literally "life mixing").
 A continuum of biogenic structures in sedimentary rocks
can range from softground to firmground to
hardground traces; softground and firmground traces
are considered as burrows, whereas hardground traces
are borings.
BORINGS
 A boring is any biogenic structure that involves
erosion of an already consolidated substrate by
an organism; the process of forming a boring by
an organism is bioerosion.
 Although most geologists may think of borings
as formed exclusively in rocks, other substrates
suitable for borings include wood, shells, bones,
or eggs.
 Under the definition given here, toothmarks also
could be considered as borings.
 Tracemakers of borings are quite diverse, ranging from
algae to tyrannosaurs.
 A partial listing of bioeroders includes some types of
fungi, foraminiferans, poriferans, cnidarians, nematodes,
phoronids, bryozoans, brachiopods, sipunculids,
polychaetes, bivalves, gastropods, cephalopods,
amphineurans, arthropods, echinoids, and fish.
 Probably the best-known bioeroders are bivalves, of
which certain species can bore into rocks and wood. In
continental environments, wood has been a preferred
substrate for some insect species, such as termites, ants,
and bees, as well as woodpeckers. Claw marks left by
modern bears on trees are borings,
 Toothmarks, is restrict in usage here to mean marks
made by vertebrates with teeth, have been attributed to
fossil organisms such as sharks, mosasaurs, or
theropods.
 However, some invertebrates, such as predatory octopi
or gastropods, can leave toothlike marks in bivalve shells
through their beak and radula, respectively.
 Borings made in marine-related environments often
represent a hiatus in deposition that formed a
hardground or, in the case of a wood accumulation, a
woodground.
 Hardgrounds are typically represented by the
Trypanites ichnofacies, whereas woodgrounds are
represented by the Teredolites ichnofacies.
 The Scoyenia ichnofacies includes borings made in
continental settings, although subdivision of this
ichnofacies would be very helpful for better
representation of the diversity of borings reflecting
environmentally sensitive factors
Coprolites
Age: ?Jurassic
Formation: ?Morrison
Location: Utah, USA
Collector: Lowentor
Museum of Natural History,
Stuttgart, Germany
Photographer: A. J. Martin
Comments:
This coprolite has been
interpreted as a product of
a sauropod because of its
large size (about 40 cm
diameter from what I recall).
 Age:
 Formation:
 Location:
 Collector:
 Photographer: A. J.
Martin
 Comments:
the presence of some
bone material in the
coprolite indicates either
a carnivore or omnivore,
probably mammalian,
was the trace maker.
 Coprolites are fossilized feces, which can range
from sand-sized pellets made by invertebrates
(typically just called pellets by sedimentary
petrologists when encountered in thin section)
to the large, lump-like masses left by dinosaurs.
Coprolites are extremely valuable trace fossils
for interpreting paleodiet of organisms.
 The study of modern feces is colloquially called
"scatology" by trackers and naturalists and is
very useful for indirect estimates of animal
populations and their ecology in terrestrial
environments.
EGGS AND NESTS
 An egg is an enclosed, mineralized structure containing
an amniote (yolk sac) that helps to nourish the
developing embryo.
 The structure is a type of protection for the embryo that
also keeps all of its nutrients in a restricted space. In
contrast, amphibians require a water source for their
eggs, hence times of drought (and consequent shrinkage
of aquatic habitats) can be detrimental to amphibian
reproduction.
 Amniotic eggs also have a porous and permeable
structure that allows the developing e mbryo to
"breathe," thus offering protection but also allowing an
exchange with the surrounding environment.
 A nest is a biogenic structure typically containing a
clutch and commonly represented by an arrangement of
eggs in a semicircular or spiraled pattern. In some
instances, a raised area surrounding the eggs will denote
the border of the nest, which may be evident as a bowl-
like depression.
 Nests most likely to have been preserved in the geologic
record were on the ground and excavated in soft
sediment. Some modern reptiles and a few birds (i.e.,
penguins) use this strategy and at least some dinosaurs
used it, too.
 Nests made in trees, like those made by many modern
birds, and as vegetative piles on the ground, such as
those made by some crocodilians, would have had low
preservation potential.
 Arenicolites isp
Arenicolites is a simple U-shaped
burrow oriented perpendicular to
bedding. Different types of
Arencolites can be interpreted on
the basis of the breadth of the U.
Arthophycus isp.
Arthophycus is a horizontal, simple or
branched, straight to curved, annulated
burrow that shows well-defined and
regularly spaced ridges within the
burrow fill. Arthrophycus is interpreted
as a feeding burrow made by a worm-
like animal.
 Asteriacites isp.
Asteriacites is a horizontal, five-
pointed, star-shaped burrow.
Asteriacites is interpreted as a
resting trace made by an
asterozoan, either a stelleroid or
ophiuroid.
Aulichnites isp.
Aulichnites is a horizontally oriented
trail having two bilaterally symmetrical
convex ridges that are commonly
divided by a medial groove. Aulichnites
is intepreted as a crawling or grazing
trace made by a gastropod.
 Barypodus isp. Camborygma isp

Barypodus is a track made Camborygma is a large, vertically oriented

by a quadrupedal tetrapod burrow with some scratchmarks present on
vertebrate burrow exteriors and some specimens show
thick mud lining; burrow diameters are 5-10
cm and burrow lengths can be as much as 3-
5 meters. Probable tracemaker is a crayfish
that burrowed down to the water table in
continental environments.
 Celliforma isp
Celliforma is a vertically oriented
subcylindrical to flask-shaped burrow or
boring with a rounded termination;
in burrows a remanent of a cap is visible
as a ring within the burrow. Probable
tracemaker was a bee, which either
burrowed into a sandy substrate
or bored into wood and used
the structure as a brooding chamber.
Chabutolithes isp.
Chabutolithes is a horizontally to
obliquely oriented, bilobate burrow
showing numerous scratchmarks
oblique to perpendicular from the
burrow midline (superficially similar to
Rusophycus). Probable tracemaker
was a burrowing wasp, possibly
Pompilidae, that used the structure
as a nest.
Cheirotherium isp. Dactyloidites isp

Dactyloidites is horizontal burrow structure

that has a rosetted appearance in plan
view; it also can show remanents of a
Cheirotherium is a track central vertical shaft. Dactyloidites is
made by a quadrupedal interpreted as a cumulative deposit-feeding
tetrapod vertebrate burrow produced by a worm-like animal.
Chondrites isp
Chondrites is a branching, vertically to horizontally oriented feeding
burrow; the three-dimensional character of Chondrites can be
visualized by imagining an upside-down tree, with a main burrow
"trunk" connecting to the sediment-water interface and increasingly
complex branches downward into the sediment. Chondrites is
interpreted as a feeding burrow that is often associated with low-
oxygen substrates, although there are exceptions to this generality
 Climactichnites isp.

Climactichnites is a horizontally oriented trackway characterized by well-

defined arched or V-shaped ridges and finer arcuate rill marks.
Climactichnites is typically larger (about 15 cm diameter) than most
similar trackways, such as Cruziana. Climactichnites has numerous
interpretations regarding its tracemaker, including crustaceans,
eurypterids, trilobites, and mollusks.
 Conichnus isp
Conichnus is a vertically oriented burrow with a cone-in-cone structure
that tapers in the downward direction. Conichnus differs from Rosellia in
that the bottom of the burrow terminates in a point, rather than continuing
into a narrower tube. Conichnus is interpreted as a resting trace with
evidence of equilibrium as a sessile organism (probably an anemone)
moved upward in response to sedimentation
 Dimetropus isp. Eatonichnus isp.

Dimetropus is a track made by a

Eatonichnus is a vertically oriented,
quadrupedal tetrapod vertebrate and is
annulated, pluglike burrow showing
affiliated with pelycosaurs, such as its
some scratchmarks on the burrow
supposed tracemaker namesake,
exterior. Probable tracemaker was a
Dimetrodon.
burrowing wasp, possibly Sphecidae,
that used the burrow as a nest.
 Dimorphichnus isp
Dimorphichnus is a horizontal trackway with two sets of impressions: thin
and long scratch marks that are straight to slightly curved, and short prod
marks. Both sets of marks are oblique to the overall direction of movement
indicated by the trackway. Dimorphichnus is interpreted as a lateral grazing
trace made by a trilobite, where the prod marks are toe impressions and
the scratch marks are from raking movement
 Diplocraterion isp.
Diplocraterion is a U-shaped burrow oriented perpendicular to bedding;
spreite are apparent between the limbs of the U. Diplocraterion is
interpreted as a dwelling burrow made by an animal that adjusted its
burrow either up or down in response to increased sedimentation or
erosion, respectively.
 Monocraterion isp.
Entomichnus isp

Monocraterion is a simple vertically

oriented burrow that shows a funnel-like
projection at the top of the burrow; erosion
of the burrow top can make this trace fossil
Entomichnus is a vertically indentifiable as Skolithos.
oriented, spiraled burrow with Monocraterion is interpreted as a
numerous smaller burrows combined dwelling and feeding burrow
branching from the main spirals. where the funnel probably served as a trap
Probable tracemaker is a termite, for prey organisms moving near the burrow
specifically a termite nest opening; the probable tracemaker is a
polychaete worm.
 Gyrolithes isp Gyrophyllites isp.

Gyrophyllites is s vertically or obliquely oriented burrow

that has a number of leaf-like projections that extend
from the central shaft in a helical pattern;
Gyrophyllites is interpreted as a feeding burrow made
by an animal that made repeated probes into the
sediment in a radial pattern.
Gyrolithes is a vertically oriented burrow that shows a
tightly spiraling form in vertical section; the breadth of
the sprial is consistent throughout the length of the
burrow. In some instances,
Gyrolithes is interpreted as a dwelling structure that
may have had some feeding combined; and arthropod
tracemaker is probable.
 Kouphichnium isp.
Kouphichnium is a horizontally
oriented, bilaterally symmetrical
trackway that can be quite variable
but in best examples shows
"birdfoot"-like footprints in
association with a medial dragmark.
Probable tracemaker was a limulid
(horseshoe crab) in either marine or
nonmarine environments
Neonereites isp
Neonereites is a meandering,
horizontally oriented trail, typically on
bedding plane surfaces, filled with
single or double pellets. Neonereites is
intepreted as a feeding trace from an
animal that grazed along a sediment
surface, leaving behind regular fecal
pellets.
Laoporus isp.

Laoporus is a track made by a

quadrupedal tetrapod
vertebrate and has been
attributed to synapsids
Lockeia isp.

Lockeia is an ovoid, biconvex, and

bilaterally symmetrical trace fossil,
typically preserved as a positive
relief trace on the bottom of a bed.
The overall shape is similar to an
almond (and about the same size).
Lockeia is interpreted as a bivalve
resting trace.
Navahopus isp

Navahopus is a track made

by a quadrupedal tetrapod
vertebrate.
This particular ichnogenus
has been attributed to
prosauropod tracemakers
Nereites isp.

Nereites is a meandering trail with a medial furrow and closely-spaced lobes

on either side of the furrow. The meandering can be very tight, causing the
trace to occupy a large amount of an affected area. Nereites is interpreted as
an feeding trail formed on a sediment surface, perhaps as an intrastratal
trace.

Palaeophycus isp.

Palaeophycus is a simple burrow that can

(but typically does not) show branching, is
oriented horizontal or oblique to bedding,
and has a distinctive burrow lining.
Palaeophycus is interpreted as a
combined feeding and dwelling burrow
made by a worm-like animal
Ophiomorpha isp

Ophiomorpha is a branching burrow with either horizontal, oblique, or

vertical box-like networks; the burrow exterior is characterized by a
knobby texture formed by a pelletal lining, but in some cases only an
internal mold of the burrow is evident. Ophiomorpha is interpreted as a
combined dwelling and feeding burrow made by a shrimp-like animal;
modern callianassid shrimp show the same burrow geometry and pelletal
reinforcement of their burrows.
 Paleodictyon isp.
Paleohelcura isp
Paleodictyon is a polygonal trail oriented
parallel to bedding on bedding plane
surfaces. The geometry of Paleodictyon
is normally a hexagonal network, forming
a "honeycomb" pattern. Paleodictyon is
interpreted as a "farming" trace, where
the tracemaking animal made a
systematic mucuous-lined trail that it
later grazed after some microbial
colonies grew on the organics-rich trail.
Paleohelcura is a trackway
consisting of two parallel rows of
tracks; the tracks are typically in
groups of three and a medial
drag mark is occasionally
between the track rows. The
probable tracemaker was an
arachnid (possibly a scorpion),
typically found in rocks formed in
continental environments
 Paleoscolytus isp.
Paleoscolytus is a variously oriented, simple, thin, cylindrical boring found
in woody substrates. Probable tracemaker was a wood-boring beetle,
such as those of Scolididae.
 Phycosiphon isp.
Phycodes isp.

Phycosiphon is a horizontally to
obliquely oriented burrow having U-
shaped loops that make an overall
"antler-like" form for the trace.
Phycosiphon is interpreted as a
feeding burrow made by a worm-like
animal

Phycodes is a horizontally to
obliquely oriented burrow that
shows a "broomlike" branching
from a central burrow.
Phycodes is interpreted as a
feeding burrow made by
repeated probes by an animal
into the sediment
 Psammichnites isp.
Psammichnites is a horizontally
oriented trail with a narrow
medial ridge and finer transverse
ridges; the overall form is
straight to curvaceous, in some
cases making loops.
Psammichnites is interpreted as
a gastropod grazing trace
Rusophycus isp.
Rusophycus is a horizontally oriented
bilobate, ovoid-shaped burrow that has
parallel to subparallel scratch marks
laterally extending from a central
bisecting plane. . Rusophycus is a
resting trace made by a trilobite or a
trilobite-like arthropod.
 Planolites isp
Planolites is a simple meandering burrow oriented horizontal or oblique to
bedding; it is typically distinguished from Palaeophycus by its lack of a burrow
lining. Planolites is interpreted as a feeding burrow made by a worm-like
animal
 Psilonichnus isp.
Psilonichnus is a vertically oriented burrow that normally shows Y-
branching toward the burrow top. Psilonichnus is interpreted as a dwelling
burrow for arthropods in dune or marsh environments; the most probable
tracemaker was a crab, such as modern Ocypode.
 Rhizocorallium isp.
Rhizocorallium is a horizontally or obliquely oriented, U-shaped burrow that
shows spreite between the limbs of the U. This trace fossil is distinguished
from Diplocraterion by its horizontal attitude. Rhizocorallium is interpreted
as a feeding burrow where the animal moved horizontally through the
sediment in a systematic feeding pattern
 Plant Trace Fossils
The most common trace fossils left by plant activity are root traces, which
show the branching and irregular morphology normally associated with
living plant roots.
Rosselia isp.
Rosselia is a vertically oriented burrow that shows concentric cone-in-cone
structure inside the burrow; the burrow markedly constricts in a downward
direction. Rosselia is interpreted as a dwelling burrow where a sessile
animal moved its burrow upward as an equilibrium response to
sedimentation
Rotodactylus isp

is a track made by a quadrupedal tetrapod vertebrate

 Scalarituba isp
Scalarituba is a simple, horizontally
or obliquely oriented, meandering
burrow that shows a chevron or
"scale-like" pattern within the burrow.
Scalarituba is interpreted as a
feeding burrow where the animal
packed its burrow behind it as it
moved through the sediment
Schaubcylindrichnus isp.
Schaubcylindrichnus is a vertically
to obliquely oriented, well-lined
burrow; individual burrows are
slightly curved and occur in closely-
spaced clusters.
Schaubcylindrichnus is interpreted
as a dwelling burrow made by a
worm-like animal.
 Scoyenia isp. Spirophycus isp.

Scoyenia is a horizontal to vertically

oriented, simple, straight to slightly
Spirophycus is a simple, tightly
curved burrow with a "rope-like"
meandering horizontally oriented
architecture; individual burrows comonly
trail, parallel to bedding and typically
cross one another. Scoyenia is
preserved as an impression on a
interpreted as a feeding burrow made
bedding plane surface. Spirophycus
by an arthropod (possibly a larval
is interpreted as a feeding trace left
beetle) and is typically associated with
by a worm-like animal as it grazed
nonmarine environments, originally
across a sediment surface or within
formed in moist soils
a bedding interface
 Skolithos isp.
Skolithos is a simple, tube-like, vertically oriented burrow that typically shows
a much greater length versus width. Skolithos is interpreted as a dwelling
burrow made by a suspension-feeding animal
 Teichichnus isp. Trichophycus isp.

Trichophycus is a horizontally to
Teichichnus is a simple horizontally or obliquely oriented burrow that has a
obliquely oriented burrow that shows broad "banana-like" U-shape,
vertically to obliquely oriented spreite. scratch marks in the burrow wall,
Teichichnus is interpreted as a feeding and can (but does not necessarily)
burrow, probably made by a deposit- show some vertically oriented
feeding bivalve, that moved its burrow spreite. Trichophycus is interpreted
up or down in a vertical plane for as a combined feeding and dwelling
systematic feeding burrow for a large arthropod
 Teredolites isp
Teredolites is a club-shaped, vertically to obliquely oriented boring that
typically shows annulations on the boring wall and is preserved in
woodgrounds (coal beds) or as boring casts from woodgrounds. Teredolites
is interpreted as a combined feeding and dwelling trace made by wood-
boring bivalves in woodgrounds that were submerged under marine water
 Thalassinoides isp.

Thalassinoides is a branching burrow (Y- or T-shaped branches) with

either horizontal, oblique, or vertical box-like networks and enlargements
at junctions between some branches. Unlike Ophiomorpha,
Thalassinoides has smooth walls. Thalassinoides is interpreted as a
combined feeding and dwelling burrow, but has been observed as a
boring in some cases. The probable tracemaker was an arthropod
Trypanites isp

Trypanites is a simple, vertically to obliquely

oriented boring that can curve slightly and have
rounded terminations.
Trypanites is interpreted as a dwelling structure
where the tracemaker bored into a hard
substrate.
 Zoophycos isp.
Zoophycos is a horizontally to obliquely oriented burrow that shows a helical
structure as a result of overlapping U-shaped burrows that have spreite
between the U's. (Author's note - this is a difficult burrow for me to describe
with words.)
Zoophycos is interpreted as a systematic feeding burrow where the animal
probed into the sediment in a U-shape swath, then repeated the same type
of swath adjacent to the previous swath, moving in a clockwise or
counterclockwise direction.