Ichnology
Ichnology is the study of trace fossils of once-living things.[1]
Burrows, trackways, trails and borings are all examples of traces made by organisms.[1] Scientists study traces made by plants and animals to try to determine their behavior.[2] An ichnologist is a scientist whose area of study and research is ichnology.
A species name given to a fossil is called an ichnospecies. It is written in italics with a lower case initial. It is shown to be an ichnospecies by the abbreviation "isp".[3]
Examples
- Later Cambrian trace fossils from intertidal settings include Protichnites and Climactichnites, and others.
- Mesozoic dinosaur footprints including Ichnotaxon such as Grallator and Atreipus (bipedal theropods) and Anomoepus.
- Triassic to Recent termite mounds, which can be several square kilometers of sediment
- Possible Avian footprints such as Saurexallopus.
Ichnology Media
Chirotherium footprints in a Triassic sandstone
The trackway Protichnites from the Cambrian, Blackberry Hill, central Wisconsin
Cross-section of mammoth footprints at The Mammoth Site, Hot Springs, South Dakota
This coprolite shows distinct top and bottom jaw bite marks, possibly from a prehistoric gar fish. Discovery location: South Carolina, US; age: Miocene; dimensions: 144.6 × 63.41 mm (5.693 × 2.496 in); weight: 558 g (1 lb 3.7 oz)
Eubrontes, a dinosaur footprint in the Lower Jurassic Moenave Formation at the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm, southwestern Utah
Diagram showing how dinosaur footprints are preserved in different deposits
Climactichnites wilsoni, probably trails from a slug-like animal, from the Cambrian, Blackberry Hill, central Wisconsin. The ruler in the background is 45 cm (18 in) long.
Petroxestes borings in a hardground from the Upper Ordovician of southern Ohio
Rusophycus trace fossil from the Ordovician of southern Ohio. Scale bar is 10 mm.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "ichnology". Dictionary.com. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
- ↑ "What is Ichnology?". Emery College of Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on March 18, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
- ↑ ichnospecies. Oxford Reference. Oxford University Press. 20 March 2008. ISBN 978-0-19-921194-4. Retrieved February 6, 2017.