Special Issue: Studies in Paleobiology and Paleoecology in Honor of Professor David J. Bottjer
0
Citation
20
Reference
10
Related Paper
Keywords:
Burrow
Bedrock
Bioerosion
Ichnofacies
Caddisfly
Ichnology
Paleoecology
Burrow
Bedrock
Bioerosion
Ichnofacies
Caddisfly
Ichnology
Paleoecology
Cite
Citations (0)
The marine Pliocene at the locality of Nefiach (Roussillon Basin, SE France) includes several shell beds constituted by oysters and scallops that bear a diverse and abundant bioerosion trace fossil assemblage. The most abundant trace fossils are Gnathichnus pentax and Radulichnus inopinatus, produced by the grazing activity of echinoids and polyplacophorans upon algae and other microorganisms coating shell surfaces. Other bioerosion traces include polychaete dwellings (Caulostrepsis taeniola and Maeandropolydora sulcans), sponge boring systems (Entobia isp.), and rare bryozoan bor− ings (Pinaceocladichnus isp.), predation structures (Oichnus simplex and repaired durophagous scars), and foraminiferal fixation pits (Centrichnus cf. eccentricus). The trace fossil assemblage records short−term bioerosion in shellgrounds in a moderate energy setting as evinced by the dominance of epigenic or shallow endogenic structures produced in most cases by “instantaneous” behaviors. The assemblage can be assigned to the Gnathichnus ichnofacies, and it contrasts with that found in Pliocene rocky shores in the same geographic area, which are examples of the Entobia ichnofacies. The Gnathichnus ichnofacies is validated as an archetypal one and its recurrency demonstrated since the Jurassic. Entobia and Gnathichnus ichnofacies have to be used in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic as substitutes of the previously existing Trypanites ichnofacies, which is still valid in the Palaeozoic.
Ichnofacies
Bioerosion
Cite
Citations (71)
Ichnology
Bioerosion
Bioturbation
Ichnofacies
Cite
Citations (0)
Burrow
Ichnofacies
Bioerosion
Bedrock
Ichnology
Cite
Citations (17)
Ichnofacies
Ichnology
Cite
Citations (35)
Bioerosional trace fossils (borings) are reported for the first time in Algeria. Three ichnotaxa observed in the shells of Ostrea lamellosa from the lower Messinian (upper Miocene) deposits of the Tafna basin (NW Algeria) are described. The ichnotaxa are Entobia cf. geometrica, Gastrochaenolites cf. torpedo and Trypanites isp.. Ostrea lamellosa shells are encrusted by balanid barnacles which are bored by Trypanites isp.. The ichnoassemblage is assigned to the Trypanites ichnofacies. Besides the bioerosion and encrustation described herein, specimens permitted the identification of the different phases of the Messinian transgression across the Souk el Khemis shoal.
Bioerosion
Ichnofacies
Ichnology
Shoal
Marine transgression
Cite
Citations (21)
Abstract Invertebrate burrow distributions (neoichnology) across a modern tidal flat are presented as an analogue for interpreting the ichnology of palaeo‐tidal‐flat successions. Burrow distributions are linked to physical and chemical (physicochemical) stresses to establish the main controls on the distribution of biosedimentary structures. Across the tidal flat, there is clear heterogeneity in both the diversity of traces and the intensity of burrowing. This heterogeneity reflects a myriad of physicochemical stresses, with the sedimentation rate dominating burrow distributions. Across all substrates, the total area occupied by organisms rarely exceeds 3% of the tidal‐flat surface, and is commonly <1%; this equates to a bioturbation index value of one. To reach bioturbation index values of two to six, sediments must be available to biogenic reworking and/or recolonization. With an increasing sedimentation rate, substrates are rapidly buried and re‐exposed, which limits the time when a substrate is available to colonization. For palaeo‐ichnological studies, this research presents several key results. (i) Burrow cross‐cutting relationships in tidal‐flat successions commonly reflect natural heterogeneities in the areal distribution of infaunal communities, rather than infaunal tiering. (ii) Ichnofabric analysis of palaeo‐tidal flats with a high sedimentation rate would yield fabrics that reflect heterogeneities in the areal distribution of infaunal communities rather than variability in the physicochemical stresses of the environment. (iii) The composite trace‐fossil assemblage of tidal flats cannot be attributed to a single ichnofacies, but instead comprises elements typical of multiple ichnofacies. (iv) The main controls on trace assemblages across tidal flats in fully marine settings are sedimentological and include the sedimentation rate and, to a lesser extent, grain size.
Burrow
Bioturbation
Ichnofacies
Ichnology
Sedimentation
Tidal flat
Taphonomy
Sill
Cite
Citations (67)
Ichnofacies
Siliciclastic
Ichnology
Ooid
Bioerosion
Bioturbation
Cite
Citations (61)
Bioerosion
Ichnofacies
Ichnology
Cite
Citations (120)
The Paleocene (Danian) Clayton Formation of western Alabama, USA, includes multiple marine shelf parasequences, each comprising a relatively thick marl, capped by a thin limestone, the latter variably reflecting marine flooding episodes. The marls host relatively large firmground burrow systems that penetrate 50–60 cm beneath, and are cast by, superjacent limestones. Excavation of two partially exposed burrow systems – one beneath a highstand parasequence-bounding flooding surface and the other beneath an overlying coplanar sequence boundary/transgressive surface (SB/TS) – reveals complex, primarily horizontal, irregularly branching networks. The former, allied with Thalassinoides paradoxicus, lacks wall bioglyphs, whereas the latter, allied with Spongeliomorpha iberica, is characterized by pervasive, mainly rhombohedral wall bioglyphs that reflect a relatively more firm substrate. Contrasts between these burrow systems are consistent with sequence stratigraphical context and inferred differences in the mechanism and magnitude of depositional hiatuses responsible for firmground development. Both excavated burrow systems likely represent cumulative structures produced by multiple organisms over extended periods of time. The cumulative nature and potential taphonomic biases associated with these and comparable burrow systems in the stratigraphical record preclude confident interpretation of tracemakers and their behaviours. The Clayton burrow systems likely were produced by one or more species of decapod crustacean that engaged in suspension-feeding, surface detritus feeding, gardening or some combination thereof.
Burrow
Marl
Ichnofacies
Ichnology
Taphonomy
Transgressive
Cite
Citations (3)