''Isopodichnus'' is an
ichnogenus
An ichnotaxon (plural ichnotaxa) is "a taxon based on the fossilized work of an organism", i.e. the non-human equivalent of an artifact. ''Ichnotaxa'' comes from the Greek ίχνος, ''ichnos'' meaning ''track'' and ταξις, ''taxis'' meaning ...
of
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, ...
. Ribbon-like in form, ''Isopodichnus'' traces were likely formed by the activity of an
isopod crustacean
Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group can ...
foraging within the preserved sediment. Parallel to the bedding plane, a central furrow is flanked by two hypichnial ridges. Trails may also exhibit scratch marks and be associated with ''
Rusophycus
''Rusophycus'' is a trace fossil ichnogenus allied to ''Cruziana''. ''Rusophycus'' is the resting trace, recording the outline of the tracemaker; ''Cruziana'' is made when the organism moved. The sculpture of ''Rusophycus'' may reveal the approx ...
''-like resting traces. ''Isopodichnus'' are very similar in form to ''
Cruziana
''Cruziana'' is a trace fossil consisting of elongate, bilobed, approximately bilaterally symmetrical burrows, usually preserved along bedding planes, with a sculpture of repeated striations that are mostly oblique to the long dimension. It is fo ...
'' traces, making delineation of the two forms difficult, and controversial.
[Richard G. Bromley (1996): ''Trace Fossils: Biology, Taphonomy and Applications.'' Second Edition, Chapman & Hall, p. 187]
GoogleBooks)
Image:trace2.jpg, ''Isopodichnus'' trace fossil from the upper carboniferous - (Scotland, St Monans, Fife) (two penny piece for scale)
Image:trace3.jpg, Close up
Image:Cruziana2.jpg, ''Cruziana'' trace, possibly formed by a Trilobite
Trilobites (; meaning "three lobes") are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites form one of the earliest-known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the ...
.
See also
*
Cruziana
''Cruziana'' is a trace fossil consisting of elongate, bilobed, approximately bilaterally symmetrical burrows, usually preserved along bedding planes, with a sculpture of repeated striations that are mostly oblique to the long dimension. It is fo ...
*
Ichnology
*
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, ...
References
External links
Chuck D. Howell's Ichnogenera Photos
Further reading
* Mikuláš R. (1992): Trace fossils from the Kosov Formation of the Bohemian Upper Ordovician, Sbor. geol. Věd, Paleont., 32, 9-54
Arthropod trace fossils
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