New arthropod traces from the Lower Triassic Kockatea Shale Formation,northern Perth Basin,Western Australia: ichnology,taphonomy and palaeoecology

Abundant scratching traces are described from the Early Triassic Kockatea Shale Formation in the Northampton area of the northern Perth Basin, Western Australia. Except for the Radichnus trace that represents grazing of a possible decapod mecochirids, Scalpoichnus minchinensis igen. and isp. nov. is established to accommodate other scratching sculptures, which might have been produced by arthropods that share similar feeding behaviours to those of decapods. These arthropod traces occurred on a mat‐bound substratum defined by wrinkle structures. Microbial mats may have served as food resources for trace‐makers feeding on the substratum. Furthermore, microbial envelopes functioning as a sole veneer in early diagenesis acted as a crucial role for the preservation of those shallow‐tiered engraving traces. Abundant arthropod traces indicate frequent grazing activities probably by decapods or organisms having similar feeding habits upon microbial mat‐bound substratum, implying that the deposit‐feeders or omnivores survived on the matgrounds in the aftermath of the end‐Permian mass extinction in Gondwanaland. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thalassinoides in the Middle Miocene succession at Siwa Oasis,northwestern Egypt

At Siwa Oasis, the carbonate-rich Middle Miocene Marmarica Formation includes several firmground discontinuity surfaces, characterized by extensive burrow systems. These surfaces are confined to the boundary between the Oasis and Siwa Escarpment members in addition to several intraformational marine firmground discontinuities at several horizons within these two members. The marine trace fossils from all these discontinuities are represented mainly by the ichnogenus Thalassinoides. In all occurrences, Thalassinoides are characterized by a sharp erosional lower contact and grades upward into fossiliferous argillaceous limestone facies. Three Thalassinoides ichnospecies have been reported, including: Th. horizontalis Myrow, 1995, Th. suevicus (Rieth, 1932) and Th. paradoxicus (Woodward, 1830). They are mostly recorded as hypichnial/endichnial forms at the sole of fossiliferous argillaceous limestone facies. Rare exichnial occurrences are also recorded. Thalassinoides ichnospecies displayed considerable variations in their stratigraphic distribution, in addition to remarkable variations in their complexity and dimension. These variations are mostly reflecting environmental conditions prevailed during the trace-maker life. Paleoenvironmental interpretation of these burrows confirmed a well-oxygenated shallow marine environment with extremely slow or nearly nil rate of sedimentation.     

21世纪遗迹学热点与前沿:第14届国际遗迹组构专题研讨会综述*

第14届国际遗迹组构专题研讨会于2017年4月29日至5月2日在中国台北台湾大学顺利召开。从会议口头报告、展板、会间和会后野外地质考察以及交流讨论可以看出遗迹学热点与前沿: (1)遗迹化石的系统分类将一直是遗迹学家努力的方向,旨在为古生物学研究提供丰富的行为学资料,并为沉积学、古生态学等研究提供科学、客观和简便的遗迹分类学框架;(2)遗迹组构分析在沉积学中的深入应用,能提供大量传统沉积学、地球化学分析所无法揭示的生物学信息;(3)重大地质事件的遗迹学响应以及遗迹化石的演化古生态学为地质—生命突变期研究提供了独一无二的新素材;(4)地微生物学与遗迹学的结合进行了初步有益尝试;(5)特殊化石行为如求偶行为的报道扩大了深时行为类型;(6)定量形态表征和统计分析是遗迹学研究精细化和定量化的重要途径,通过遗迹组构分析来定量刻画沉积环境因子是遗迹组构研究的重要前景方向。     

Preferred orientation of the trace fossil Entradichnus meniscus in eolian dune strata (Djadokhta Formation) at Tugrikiin Shiree,southern Mongolia and its paleoecological implications

Eolian sand dune deposits of the Upper Cretaceous Djadokhta Formation at Tugrikiin Shiree, southern Mongolia, yield not only dinosaur skeletal remains but also numerous trace fossils produced by invertebrates. This paper describes the trace fossil Entradichnus meniscus, a long unlined and unbranched trail that is filled with meniscate laminae and occurs characteristically in positive epirelief. The trail is straight to gently meandering, parallel to the foreset laminae of the eolian dunes, and exhibits a significant preferred orientation parallel to the depositional dip of the cross‐stratification laminae. In addition, almost all the crescentic internal laminae of the trail show concave down‐dips. These features indicate that the trails were produced beneath the slipface of eolian dunes by the downward burrowing of the trace‐makers. This occurrence mode of E. meniscus of the Mongolian Cretaceous is very similar to that described from the Jurassic eolian dune deposits in North America. Hence, the downward burrowing of the E. meniscus animal might be a common feature in arid eolian dune deposits at least during the Jurassic and Cretaceous, and possibly reflecting a behavioral response to the morphology of large sand dunes under an arid climate.     

遗迹学的可持续发展:第4届国际遗迹学大会综述*

第4届国际遗迹学大会于2016年5月6日—9日在葡萄牙新伊达尼亚世界地质公园召开。从会议报告、展板、论文摘要集和野外地质考察可以看出:遗迹化石与沉积环境分析及遗迹化石的系统古生物学是当前遗迹学研究的热门领域,新概念和跨学科的研究方法将是未来遗迹学发展的重要推动力。对比表明,中国学者在遗迹化石的系统分类学、陆相遗迹化石以及新遗迹学领域研究较为薄弱。笔者认为,注重遗迹化石在地质突变期中的分析、发展新遗迹学、加强四足动物及鸟类足迹的研究,将是近期国内遗迹学的主要研究方向。     

Bioerosion on Late Pleistocene Marine Mollusks: A Paleoclimatological and Paleoecological Comparison of MIS 7 and MIS 5e with Modern Beaches (Río Negro, Argentina)

The Late Pleistocene littoral ridges of southern South America, especially those of the north of Argentinean Patagonia, contain remains of mollusk shells with bioerosion traces. Eleven sites from marine isotope stages (2 from MIS 7, 4 from MIS 5e) and five sites from modern beaches from northern Río Negro Province, with 40 taxa (17 bivalves and 23 gastropods) were analyzed, in the area between west of Baliza San Matías and Las Grutas (41°S). Three ichnogenera were identified in deposits of MIS 7: Entobia, Gastrochaenolites (Domichnia) and Oichnus (Praedichnia) with one ichnospecies (G. torpedo). Six ichnogenera were identified in deposits of MIS 5e: Entobia, Meandropolydora, Pinaceocladichnus, Iramena, Caulostrepsis and Oichnus with one ichnospecies (O. simplex). Seven ichnogenera were identified from modern beaches: Entobia, Meandropolydora, Iramena, Caulostrepsis, Pinaceocladichnus, Gastrochaenolites (Domichnia) and Oichnus (Praedicnia), with two ichnospecies (O. simplex and O. paraboloides). On this basis, it is inferred that Pleistocene benthic communities were constituted from cheilostome bryzoans and polychaete annelids, together with drilling bivalves, predatory gastropods and overall warm-water species of mollusks. Of these, Chama iudicai was found on Plicatula gibbosa from MIS 7 and MIS 5e. The record of warm temperature species suggests a higher sea surface temperature (SST) than the present one and/or the influence of the warm southward Brazilian Current affecting the waters of Golfo San Matías. On the modern beaches surveyed, there is an increase in polychaete annelids, cheilostome bryzoans, temperate-cold species and drilling bivalves, as well as sandy substrate species, which together with an increase of Gastrochaenolites and Caulostrepsis, suggest a colder climate due to the greater influence of the Malvinas Current during the Holocene.     

Exceptional fidelity of preservation in a reworked fossil,Chalk drift,South London,England

Reworking of fossils commonly leads to loss of morphological detail and inferior preservation; the main contributions of such specimens to geology are in sedimentology, regional geology and neoichnology. A reworked specimen of the Late Cretaceous (chalk) sponge boring Entobia cretacea Portlock is unusually well preserved. This specimen is from superficial deposits and is well enough preserved that delicate apertural and intercameral canals are apparent. Two factors are recognized as important in maintaining the fine features of this trace fossil: preservation in flint and, presumably, minimal fluvial transport. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sedimentology,ichnology and hydrodynamics of strait‐margin,sand and gravel beaches and shorefaces: Juan de Fuca Strait,British Columbia,Canada

On the south‐west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada, sedimentological and ichnological analysis of three beach–shoreface complexes developed along a strait margin was undertaken to quantify process–response relations in straits and to develop a model for strait‐margin beaches. For all three beaches, evidence of tidal processes are expressed best in the lower shoreface and offshore and, to a lesser extent, in the middle shoreface. Tidal currents are dominant offshore, below 18 m water depth (relative to the mean spring high tide), whereas wave processes dominate sediment deposition in the nearshore (intertidal zone to 5 m water depth). From 18 to 5 m water depth, tidal processes decrease in importance relative to wave processes. The relatively high tidal energy in the offshore and lower shoreface is manifest sedimentologically by the dominance of sand, of a similar grain size to the upper shoreface/intertidal zone and, by the prevalence of current‐generated structures (current ripples) oriented parallel to the shoreline. In addition, the offshore and lower shoreface of strait‐bound beach–shoreface complexes are recognized ichnologically by traces typical of the Skolithos Ichnofacies. This situation contrasts to the dominantly horizontal feeding traces characteristic of the Cruziana Ichnofacies that are prevalent in the lower shoreface and offshore of open‐coast (wave‐dominated) beach–shorefaces. These sedimentological and ichnological characteristics reflect tidal influence on sediment deposition; consequently, the term ‘tide‐influenced shoreface’ most accurately describes these depositional environments.     

Fluviodeltaic sedimentology and ichnology of part of the Silurian Grampians Group,western Victoria

The mid‐Silurian Major Mitchell Sandstone of the Grampians Group outcrops at Mt Bepcha, western Victoria, represent a prograding fluviodeltaic sequence comprising four lithofacies and five ichnofacies. The stratigraphically lowest Interbedded Sandstone/Siltstone Facies is characterised by thin sandstone and siltstone beds with soft‐sediment deformation and scours with gravelly lag deposits. This lithofacies contains Thalassinoides, Palaeophycus, Rhizocorallium and intrastratal burrows, together indicative of the Cruziana Ichnofacies, and is interpreted as a shallow‐marine depositional environment on a low‐energy delta front with minor tidal influences. The overlying Massive Sandstone Facies lacks silt, and consists of predominantly massive and some plane‐laminated sandstone, abundant Skolithos linearis , rare Palaeophycus and a single small Cruziana problematica ; the trace‐fossil assemblage is assigned to the Skolithos Ichnofacies. This facies is believed to have been deposited in a marine high‐energy shoreface environment with continuously shifting sands, affected by periodic flooding events from the mouth of a nearby river. Above this is the Trough Cross‐bedded Facies, which contains trough cross‐bedding with gravelly lag deposits, a northwest palaeocurrent direction and large Taenidium barretti burrows (Burrowed Ichnofacies). This facies also contains abundant plane‐laminated sandstone with a northeast‐southwest palaeocurrent direction and ichnofossils of Scoyenia and Daedalus , representing the Scoyenia Ichnofacies. The Trough Cross‐bedded Facies is interpreted to have been deposited in shallow low‐sinuosity channels by overbank‐flooding events, most likely on a delta plain. The uppermost facies, the Plane‐laminated Facies, contains thin beds of current‐lineated, plane‐laminated graded coarse to fine sandstone that preserve arthropod trackways (Arthropod Ichnofacies). This facies was deposited on a periodically sheet‐flooded, subaerially exposed delta plain.