''Asteriacites'' is the name given to five-rayed

trace fossil A trace fossil, also known as an ichnofossil (; from el, ἴχνος ''ikhnos'' "trace, track"), is a fossil record of biological activity but not the preserved remains of the plant or animal itself. Trace fossils contrast with body fossils, ...

s found in marine sedimentary rocks (Mángano ''et al.'', 1999; Wilson and Rigby, 2000). They record the burrows of

ophiuroid Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids (; ; referring to the serpent-like arms of the brittle star) are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea, closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomot ...

and asteroid sea stars on the sea floor. ''Asteriacites'' are found in European and American rocks, from the

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start of the Silurian Period Mya. T ...

period onwards, and are especially numerous in the Triassic and

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

systems.Baucon, A., Neto de Carvalho, C. 2016. Stars of the aftermath: ''Asteriacites'' beds from the Lower Triassic of the Carnic Alps (Werfen Formation, Sauris di Sopra), Italy. Palaios 31. Abstract available at http://www.tracemaker.com Dense assemblages of ''Asteriacites'' (Asteriacites'' beds') are considered proxies for marine settings, low bioturbation intensity, shallow tiering, high sedimentation rate and/or event-bed deposition, significant levels of hydrodynamic energy, and low predation pressure.

Gallery

File:AsteriacitesDevonianOhio.jpg, ''Asteriacites'' from the Devonian of northeastern Ohio; this trace was made by an asteroid echinoderm File:Asteriacites mcr1.jpg, Bedding plane view of ''Asteriacites'' from the Snapper Point Formation (

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 251.9 Mya. It is the last ...

), New South Wales

References

Prehistoric Asterozoa genera Devonian echinoderms Silurian echinoderms Silurian animals of North America Paleozoic echinoderms of North America Devonian trace fossils Trace fossils {{paleo-echinoderm-stub