''Rhizocorallium'' is an
ichnogenus of
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 lo ...
, the inclination of which is typically within 10° of the bedding planes of the
sediment
Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...
. These burrows can be very large, over a meter long in sediments that show good preservation, e.g.
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...
rocks of the
Yorkshire Coast (eastern
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
), but the width is usually only up to 2 cm, restricted by the size of the organisms producing it. It is thought that they represent
fodinichnia as the animal (probably a
polychaete
Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine Annelid, annelid worms, common name, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called c ...
) scoured the sediment for food.
Ichnogenus
The ichnogenus ''Rhizocorallium'' Zenker 1836 includes three ichnospecies: ''Rhizocorallium jenense'' Zenker 1836 representing straight, short U-shaped
spreite
Spreite (), meaning leaf-blade in German (or spreiten (), the plural form in German) is a stacked, curved, layered structure that is characteristic of certain trace fossils. They are formed by invertebrate organisms tunneling back and forth th ...
-burrows commonly oblique to bedding plane, and only rarely horizontal, ''Rhizocorallium irregulare'' Mayer 1954 representing long, sinuous, bifurcating or planispiral U-shaped spreite-burrows, mainly horizontal, and ''Rhizocorallium uliarense'' Firtion 1958 representing trochospiral U-shaped spreite-burrows (definitions after Fürsich 1974).
References
* Fürsich, F.T. 1974. Ichnogenus Rhizocorallium. Paläontologische Zeitschrift 48, 16–28.
* Kowal-Linka M., Bodzioch A. 2011. Sedimentological implications of an unusual form of the trace fossil Rhizocorallium from the Lower Muschelkalk (Middle Triassic), S. Poland. Facies 57: 695–703.
* Rodríguez-Tovar, F., J., Pérez-Valera F. 2008. Trace fossil Rhizocorallium from the Middle Triassic of the Betic Cordillera, southern Spain: characterization and environmental implications. Palaios, 23, p. 78–86.
* Schlirf, M. 2000. Upper Jurassic trace fossils from the Boulonnais (northern France). Geologica et Palaeontologica, 34: 145–213.
Burrow fossils
{{trace-fossil-stub