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Language Spanish journal of palaeontology. 2014. Vol. 29, no. 1
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- Bioclaustration in Devonian fenestrate bryozoans. The ichnogenus Caupokeras McKinney, 2009(2014) Suárez Andrés, Juan LThe ichnogenus Caupokeras is the only reported case of bioclaustration in which a symbiont is enveloped by fenestrate bryozoans. In this paper, type and additional material of Caupokeras from Belgium, Germany and Spain is revised and the number of bryozoan genera on which it occurs is expanded; a possible case from the Carboniferous of the USA is discussed and an expanded description of the ichnogenus and a palaeobiological interpretation are provided. The association between the fenestrate bryozoans and the sclerobionts that gave rise to this trace seems to have been more advantageous for the latter
- Oichnus taddeii, a new fossil trace produced by capulids on brachiopod shells(2020) Ruggiero, Emma; Raia, PasqualeWe describe the new ichnospecies Oichnus taddeii, a bioerosion trace left by parasitic capulids on fossil brachiopods, prevalently Quaternary Terebratula species. We present the diagnosis of the new ichnospecies and discuss its status. The trace was previously attributed to either Oichnus or Lacrimichnus ichngenera. We provide a statistical assessment of the trace distribution on brachiopod shells, in order to infer the capulid behaviour, and the parasitic activity the trace represents
- Elipsoideichnus meyeri Roselli 1987 revisited: A helicoidal fossil bee nest from the Paleogene of Uruguay(2020) Verde, Mariano; Genise, Jorge FThe rare helicoidal trace fossil Elipsoideichnus meyeri Roselli 1987 was known only from its holotype. New materials were collected and revised, confirming the validity and interpretation of this ichnotaxon. Its previously inferred internal structure, composed of two pair of internal, opposite cells per whorl, was checked and completed with these new materials. Sections of specimens show that cells have a thick lining. The finding of a spiral cap in cells finally confirms that unknown bees are the trace makers of E. meyeri, possibly related with Oxaeinae or Halictinae
- Ophiomorpha irregulaire and associated trace fossils from the Upper Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina: Palaeogeographical and ethological significance(2020) López Cabrera, María I; Olivero, Eduardo BThere are two contrasting opinions on the stratigraphic and palaeogeographic distribution of the relatively rare trace fossil Ophiomorpha irregulaire: 1) the trace is mostly restricted to the Upper Cretaceous of the Western Interior Seaway, or 2) it has a post-Palaeozoic record and a worldwide geographic distribution. In this study we document the finding of O. irregulaire in Upper Cretaceous turbidites of the Alta Vista Formation, southern Patagonia, providing additional evidence on the morphology and composition of its pelletal masses, the ethology of its producer and the palaeogeographical and palaeoenvironmental distribution of the trace fossil. The burrow walls are lined with dark mud and their elongate, spiky pellets are formed by a sand core that is also lined with mud. The association with typical fodinichnia, such as Halopoa, Spirophyton, and Zoophycos and the common presence of O. irregulaire in sediments with abundant plant detritus, suggest that the producer was a deposit feeder. Crosscutting relationships and occurrences at several levels within thick-bedded turbidites, suggest a relatively deep tier emplacement of the trace. The finding of the trace in the Southern Hemisphere supports its envisaged worldwide palaeogeographic distribution
- Crininicaminus giberti isp. nov.: Tubular trace fossil armored with crinoid stem plates from the Upper Permian Kamiyasse Formation, Northeastern Japan(2020) Seike, Koji; Shiino, Yuta; Suzuki, YutaroThe tubular trace fossil Crininicaminus giberti, a horizontal tubular fossil burrow whose wall consists of numerous crinoid stem plates, occurs in the Upper Permian Kamiyasse Formation of northeastern Japan. The trace fossil described here measures 40-70 mm in length and 7-20 mm in diameter. The outer wall of the tube is characterized by numerous skeletal fragments, with most being crinoid stem plates (2 mm in diameter) and lesser fragments of brachiopods and other invertebrates. The inner wall of the tube is covered with a smooth lining devoid of crinoid skeletal elements. Because stalked crinoids mainly inhabited shallow water settings prior to the Cretaceous, it is possible that additional specimens of the ichnogenus Crininicaminus will be discovered from deposits of various ages and location
- Meanderovaleichnus huenickeni ichnogen. et ichnosp. nov. from the Bajo de Vélez Formation (Upper Carboniferous-Permian), Argentina: a new case of worm-type burrowing(2020) Cónsole-Gonella, Carlos; Aceñolaza, Florencio GA new ichnofossil, Meanderovaleichnus huenickeni ichnogen. et ichnosp. nov., is described from the fluviolacustrine deposits of the Bajo de Véliz Formation (Upper Carboniferous–Permian). The trace fossil consists of meanders (epichnial) with regular constrictions of variable width along the course. It is interpreted as a locomotion trace (repichnion) due to peristaltic burrowing of a worm, probably an annelid
- Burrow morphology of the land crab Gecarcinus lateralis and the ghost crab Ocypode quadrata on San Salvador Island, The Bahamas: comparisons and palaeoenvironmental implications(2020) Seike, Koji; Curran, AllenBurrow morphologies of the land crab Gecarcinus lateralis and the ghost crab Ocypode quadrata were investigated on East Beach, San Salvador Island, The Bahamas, with the goals of critical comparison of their morphologies and of clarifying and advancing their palaeoenvironmental usefulness. In comparing land crab burrows to those of the ghost crab, the former are simpler but more variable in overall shape. G. lateralis burrows have a more compressed form in the transverse section of the burrow shaft and possess lower (more horizontal) shaft inclination than those of O. quadrata. In the late Holocene backshore and dune deposits on San Salvador, two types of fossil burrows were observed. On the basis of the morphologic differences documented herein between modern burrows of land and ghost crab species, one fossil burrow form can be interpreted as having been produced by G. lateralis and the other (trace fossil Psilonichnus upsilon) produced by O. quadrata. Because the modern burrows of these crabs are different not only in shape but also in their environmental preference, the occurrence of trace fossils comparable to burrows of the land crab and ghost crab (P. upsilon) could be used as indicators of vegetated coastal dunes (land crab burrows) and beach backshore (near sea level; ghost crab burrows) palaeoenvironments
- Fossichnus solus and Oichnus simplex, two peculiar ichnospecies in modern benthic foraminifera from a polluted area in SW coast of Sardina, Italy(2020) Buosi, Carla; Cherchi, Antonietta; Zuddas, Pierpaolo; De Giudici, GiovanniThe modern benthic foraminiferal tests collected from a coastal area of south-western Sardinia (Portoscuso-Portovesme) that is heavily polluted by industrial activity reveal intense and widespread bioerosional structures induced by diversified microborers. A large number of the foraminifera reveals microscopic round holes (1-60 μm in diameter) and roundish concavities (25x40 μm in external diameter) on their surface that belong, respectively, to the ichnospecies Oichnus simplex Bromley, 1981, and Fossichnus solus Nielsen et al., 2003. These traces just occur in the tests of the foraminifera which are heavily infested by microendolithic cyanobacteria, algae and fungi suggests comparable ethological behaviour between the ichnospecies Fossichnus and Oichnus and the microbial euendoliths that are ascribed to individual biological taxa. The greater occurrence of F. solus and O. simplex in the high-Mg foraminiferal porcelanaceous tests than in the low-Mg foraminiferal hyaline tests reveals that the bioerosional processes seem to be related to the Mg/Ca ratio, as well as to morphological structures of the taxa
- Compound biogenic structures resulting from ontogenetic variation: An example from a modern dipteran(2020) Muñiz Guinea, Fernando; Mángano, María G; Buatois, Luis A; Podeniene, Virginija; Gámez Vintaned, José A; Mayoral Alfaro, EduardoSeveral families of Diptera are known to be active burrowers. Fly larvae of the genus Symplecta (family Limoniidae) were observed in a sandy substrate of an orange grove in Lepe, SW Spain. Traces produced by Symplecta display: (1), a proximal segment characterized by a winding furrow trail; (2), an intermediate part consisting of burrow segments arranged in zigzag; and (3), a distal part formed by a complex U-shaped burrow. The most complex morphology is present in the intermediate zigzag burrow system, which varies from irregularly sinuous and curved in its most proximal part to spiraled. In the fossil record, the trace would be ascribed to different ichnotaxa depending on the part preserved. In fact, this is a compound trace recording multiple behavioural patterns. The winding furrow shows affinities with Helminthopsis, the zigzag burrows with Treptichnus, and the U-shaped burrow with Arenicolites. Furthermore, the spiral portion shows some similarities with Spirophycus and Spirodesmos. Interestingly, formation of these compound traces is connected with different ontogenetic stages of the producer. The winding and zigzag segments are produced, respectively, by Symplecta larvae and pupae for feeding purposes, whereas the U-shaped burrow is excavated during the end of pupal stage for protection until adulthood. In the fossil record, this incipient compound trace potentially may occur in lake-margin, fluvio-estuarine and overbank deposits, including levee, crevasse splay and pond deposits, forming part of the Scoyenia or the Mermia ichnofacies. Structures similar to those produced by modern diptera are known from freshwater ichnofaunas since the Devonian
- Late Miocene deep-sea trace fossil associations in the Vera Basin, Almería, Southeastern Spain(2020) Ekdale, Allan A; de Gibert, Jordi MThe Vera Basin in southeastern Spain was a small, tectonically active depocenter throughout the Miocene. In the early Messinian, approximately 7.2 to 6.0 million years ago, the basin received hemipelagic marl deposits that were punctuated by turbidite events. Soles of thin, turbidite sand beds preserve an abundance of pre-depositional graphoglyptid (agrichnial) burrows that represent diverse deep-sea ichnocoenoses, including Paleodictyon, Urohelminthoida and Helminthorhaphe. Post-depositional feeding burrows, including Ophiomorpha (created by crustaceans) and Scolicia (created by echinoids) occur sparsely in some turbidite beds, but they are far out-numbered by the pre-depositional agrichnial burrows. This diverse trace fossil association occurred in a small, short-lived, coastal basin that apparently never got more than a few hundred meters deep. As the basin opened up and flooded in the Late Miocene, the sea floor was colonized rapidly by benthic organisms of uncertain biological affinity, who created a wide variety of anastomosing and meandering tunnels, in which a nourishing food supply (probably bacteria or fungi) apparently grew on mucus-lined walls
