Burrow fossils are the remains of
burrows - holes or tunnels excavated into the ground or seafloor - by
animals
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...
to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of
locomotion
Locomotion means the act or ability of something to transport or move itself from place to place.
Locomotion may refer to:
Motion
* Motion (physics)
* Robot locomotion, of man-made devices
By environment
* Aquatic locomotion
* Flight
* Locomo ...
preserved in the
rock record
The geologic record in stratigraphy, paleontology and other natural sciences refers to the entirety of the layers of rock strata. That is, deposits laid down by volcanism or by deposition of sediment derived from weathering detritus (clays, sand ...
. Because burrow fossils represent the preserved byproducts of behavior rather than physical remains, they are considered a kind 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, ...
. One common kind of burrow fossil is known as
Skolithos
''Skolithos'' (formerly spelled ''Scolithus'' or ''Skolithus'') is a common trace fossil ichnogenus that is, or was originally, an approximately vertical cylindrical burrow. It is produced by a variety of organisms in shallow marine environmen ...
, and the similar
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 (Bromley, 1972). It appears first in the Lower Cambrian (James et al ...
,
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 nod ...
and
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 ...
.
Vertebrate burrows
Fish burrows
Fossil
Lungfish
Lungfish are freshwater vertebrates belonging to the order Dipnoi. Lungfish are best known for retaining ancestral characteristics within the Osteichthyes, including the ability to breathe air, and ancestral structures within Sarcopterygii, i ...
burrows are preserved in the Rocky Point Member of the
Chinle Formation in
Canyonlands National Park.
Invertebrate burrows
Examples are
Treptichnus pedum
''Treptichnus'' (formerly named ''Phycodes'', ''Manykodes'' by 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 regar ...
and
Arenicolites franconicus.
Footnotes
References
* Hunt, ReBecca K., Vincent L. Santucci and Jason Kenworthy. 2006. "A preliminary inventory of fossil fish from National Park Service units." in S.G. Lucas, J.A. Spielmann, P.M. Hester, J.P. Kenworthy, and V.L. Santucci (ed.s), Fossils from Federal Lands. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 34, pp. 63–69.
{{Subterranea
Burrow fossils