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Burrow Fossils
Burrow fossils are the remains of burrows - holes or tunnels excavated into the ground or seafloor - by animals to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion preserved in the rock record. Because burrow fossils represent the preserved byproducts of behavior rather than physical remains, they are considered a kind of trace fossil. One common kind of burrow fossil is known as ''Skolithos'', and the similar ''Trypanites'', '' Ophiomorpha'' and ''Diplocraterion''. Vertebrate burrows Fish burrows Fossil Lungfish burrows are preserved in the Rocky Point Member of the Chinle Formation in Canyonlands National Park. Invertebrate burrows Examples are ''Treptichnus pedum'' and ''Arenicolites franconicus''. See also * Paleoburrow * 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 f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daemonelix (fossil Beaver Burrow) (Harrison Formation, Middle Miocene; Sioux County, Nebraska, USA) 8 (32674792614)
''Palaeocastor'' ('ancient beaver') is an extinct genus of beavers that lived in the North American Badlands during the late Oligocene period to early Miocene, 29.5~18.5 million years ago. ''Palaeocastor'' was much smaller than modern beavers. There are several species including ''Palaeocastor fossor, Palaeocastor magnus,'' ''Palaeocastor wahlerti'', and ''Palaeocastor peninsulatus.'' The animals first became known on grounds of their fossilized burrows, the "Devil's corkscrews." Biology Some members of this genus made corkscrew-shaped burrows and tunnels. Like many early castorids, ''Palaeocastor'' was predominantly a burrowing animal instead of an aquatic animal. Fossil evidence suggests they may have lived in family groups like modern beavers and employed a K reproductive strategy instead of the normal r-strategy of most rodents. Based on size and habitat, ''Palaeocastor fossor'' has been compared to a black-tailed prairie dog ('' Cynomys ludovicianus''). "Devil's corksc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diplocraterion
''Diplocraterion'' is an ichnogenus describing vertical U-shaped burrows having a spreite (weblike construction) between the two limbs of the U. The spreite of an individual ''Diplocraterion'' trace can be either protrusive (between the paired tubes) or retrusive (below the paired tubes). Some ichnospecies have both types (e.g., ''Diplocraterion yoyo''). The presence/absence of funnel-shaped openings should not be used as an ichnotaxobase due to the high probability that the upper portions of the trace may have been eroded away. Observation of the orientation of ''Diplocraterion'' in the field is frequently used to determine the way up of rock strata at outcrop. There are several ichnospecies of ''Diplocraterion''. Ethology The various ichnospecies of ''Diplocraterion'' provide a good example of how ethology (animal-substrate interactions and behavior) can be interpreted from trace fossils. ''Diplocraterion'' is a classic example of equilibrichnia (equilibrium traces). Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paleoburrow
A paleoburrow is an underground shelter excavated by extinct paleo-vertebrate megafauna that lived in the prehistoric era. Most paleoburrows are likely made by giant armadillos and large ground sloths, depending on their size. Thousands of examples have been identified across South America, mostly in the Brazilian states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. The first paleoburrow was discovered in Rondonia by Amilcar Adamy in 2010. Paleoburrows, often exposed by development, are threatened by construction and degradation from rain and the elements. Researchers from several Brazilian universities have formed the Paleoburrows Project to raise awareness about their existence, and fight misinformation. Description Thousands of sites characterized as paleoburrows have been found across South America, such as in Ponta do Abunã, in Rondônia, within the Amazon region, in the Serra do Gandarela National Park, in Minas Gerais, in Monte Bonito, the southern Rio Grande, as well as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arenicolites Franconicus
''Arenicolites'' is a U-shaped ichnotaxon (trace fossil) dating from Ediacaran times onwards in South Australia. The trace shown by this fossil, is a pair of closely spaced circles on a bedding plane In geology, a bed is a layer of sediment, sedimentary rock, or volcanic rock "bounded above and below by more or less well-defined bedding surfaces".Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackson, eds., 2005. ''Glossary of Geology'' (5th ed .... In vertical section the traces are U- or J-shaped. They appear to be burrows made by a kind of worm. References Trace fossils Ediacaran life {{trace-fossil-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Treptichnus Pedum
''Treptichnus'' (formerly named ''Phycodes'', ''Manykodes'' by Jerzy Dzik, J. Dzik, and also known as ''Trichophycus''See e.gfossiilid.info: paleodiversity in Baltoscandia: Trichophycus pedum/ref>) is the preserved burrow of an animal. As such, it is regarded as the earliest widespread complex trace fossil. Its earliest appearance, around 542 million years ago (mya), which was contemporaneous with the last of the Ediacaran biota, is used to help define the dividing line, Cambrian#Subdivisions, considered geologically at 541 mya, between the Ediacaran and Cambrian Period (geology), periods. It is last seen in the fossil record during the Cenomanian (99.7 mya). Description ''Treptichnus pedum'' has a fairly complicated and distinctive burrow pattern: along a central, sometimes sinuous or looping burrow it made successive probes upward through the sediment in search of nutrients, generating a trace pattern reminiscent of a fan or twisted rope. The organism that left such traces is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands National Park is a national park of the United States located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab. The park preserves a colorful landscape eroded into numerous canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green River, and their respective tributaries. Legislation creating the park was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 12, 1964. The park is divided into four districts: the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze, and the combined rivers—the Green and Colorado—which carved two large canyons into the Colorado Plateau. While these areas share a primitive desert atmosphere, each retains its own character. Author Edward Abbey, a frequent visitor, described the Canyonlands as "the most weird, wonderful, magical place on earth—there is nothing else like it anywhere." History In the early 1950s, Bates Wilson, then superintendent of Arches National Monument, began exploring the area to the south and west of Moab, Utah. Aft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinle Formation
The Chinle Formation is an Upper Triassic continental geological formation of fluvial, lacustrine, and palustrine to eolian deposits spread across the U.S. states of Nevada, Utah, northern Arizona, western New Mexico, and western Colorado. In New Mexico, it is often raised to the status of a geological group, the Chinle Group. Some authors have controversially considered the Chinle to be synonymous to the Dockum Group of eastern Colorado and New Mexico, western Texas, the Oklahoma panhandle, and southwestern Kansas. The Chinle Formation is part of the Colorado Plateau, Basin and Range, and the southern section of the Interior Plains.GEOLEX database entry for Chinle USGS (viewed 19 March 2006) A probable separate depositional basin within the Chinle is found in northwestern Colorado and northeaste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lungfish
Lungfish are freshwater vertebrates belonging to the class Dipnoi. Lungfish are best known for retaining ancestral characteristics within the Osteichthyes, including the ability to breathe air, and ancestral structures within Sarcopterygii, including the presence of lobed fins with a well-developed internal skeleton. Lungfish represent the closest living relatives of the tetrapods (which includes living amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals). The mouths of lungfish typically bear tooth plates, which are used to crush hard shelled organisms. Today there are only six known species of lungfish, living in Africa, South America, and Australia, though they were formerly globally distributed. The fossil record of the group extends into the Early Devonian, over 410 million years ago. The earliest known members of the group were marine, while almost all post-Carboniferous representatives inhabit freshwater environments. Etymology Dipnoi is Modern Latin derived from the Greek δίπν ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ophiomorpha
''Ophiomorpha'' is an ichnotaxon, usually interpreted as a burrow of an organism (specifically a crustacean) living in the near-shore environment. The burrow lining is more or less smooth on the inside, and densely to strongly mammalated or nodose on the outside, due to the packing of nodules for support of the burrow. Branching is irregular but Y-shaped where present. It (particularly ''O. nodosa'') is often considered part of the Skolithos ichnofacies, where it has occurred (i.e. nearshore environments) since the early Permian, though it (particularly ''O. rudis'') has also occurred in deep water settings (''Nereites'' ichnofacies) since the Late Jurassic, such as well-oxygenated turbidites. More generally ''Ophiomorpha ''and other crustacean-generated burrows first become prominent in the Jurassic. See also * Trace fossil * Ichnology A trace fossil, also called an ichnofossil (; ), is a fossil record of biological activity by lifeforms, but not the preserved rem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burrow
file:Chipmunk-burrow (exits).jpg, An eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of Animal locomotion, locomotion. Burrows provide a form of shelter against predation and exposure to the elements, and can be found in nearly every biome and among various biological interactions. Many animal species are known to form burrows. These species range from small amphipods, to very large vertebrate species such as the polar bear. Burrows can be constructed into a wide variety of substrates and can range in complexity from a simple tube a few centimeters long to a complex network of interconnecting tunnels and chambers hundreds or thousands of meters in total length; an example of the latter level of complexity, a well-developed burrow, would be a rabbit Warren (burrow), warren. Vertebrate burrows A large variety of vertebrates constru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trypanites
''Trypanites'' is a narrow, cylindrical, unbranched boring which is one of the most common trace fossils in hard substrates such as rocks, carbonate hardgrounds and shells. It appears first in the Lower Cambrian, was very prominent in the Ordovician Bioerosion Revolution, and is still commonly formed today. ''Trypanites'' is almost always found in calcareous substrates, most likely because the excavating organism used an acid or other chemical agent to dissolve the calcium carbonate. ''Trypanites'' is common in the Ordovician and Silurian hardgrounds of Baltica Baltica is a paleocontinent that formed in the Paleoproterozoic and now constitutes northwestern Eurasia, or Europe north of the Trans-European Suture Zone and west of the Ural Mountains. The thick core of Baltica, the East European Craton, i .... References * {{Taxonbar, from=Q4707312 Boring fossils Ichnotaxa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skolithos
''Skolithos'' (formerly spelled ''Scolithus'' or ''Skolithus'') is a common trace fossil ichnogenus that is, or was originally, an approximately vertical cylindrical burrow with a distinct lining. It was produced globally by a variety of organisms, mostly in shallow marine environments, and appears as linear features in sedimentary rocks. Depositional environments ''Skolithos'' ranges in age from early Cambrian to the present and is found throughout the world. They occur in sediments and sedimentary rocks, primarily sands and sandstones. They are typically marine in origin, and are commonly associated with high-energy environments close to the shoreline. They have also been reported from freshwater lacustrine settings, but have rarely been described from carbonate rocks. Vertical ''Skolithos'' can also occur in alluvial sediments such as braided river deposits, where the periodic fluctuation of water is an important factor in the formation of this structure. This periodic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
