The Ichnofacies Paradigm - Trace Fossils as Indicators of Sedimentary Environments - page 103

TABLE 1 General Characteristics and Environmental Aspects of the Marine and

Marginal-Marine Seilacherian Ichnofacies—Cont'd

Ethologies and trophic styles Common traces References

Vertical J-, Y-, and U-shaped dwelling,
crawling and foraging traces, vertebrate
tracks. Formed by mixture of terrestrial
and marine predators, scavengers and
herbivores.
Vertical, cylindrical, branching and/or
U-shaped dwellings, equilibrium and escape
traces. Formed by suspension feeders,
surface-detritus feeders and/or passive
(tubicolous) carnivores.

Psilonichnus, Psammichnites,
Polykladichnus, Planolites,
Macanopsis, Lockeia, roots.

Frey and
Pemberton (1987),
Marshall (2003), and
Nesbitt and
Campbell (2006)

Ophiomorpha, Conichnus,
Arenicolites, Skolithos,
Bergaueria, Palaeophycus,
Diplocraterion, Gyrolithes,
Schaubcylindrichnus coronus,
Siphonichnus.

Seilacher (1964),
Howard and Frey
(1984), and Hiscott
et al. (1984)

Seilacher (1964),
Pemberton and
Frey (1984), and
Frey (1990)

Predominantly horizontal and vertical
dwelling burrows as well as mobile
deposit-feeding traces. Dominant trophic
behaviors are deposit-feeding, with minor
suspension-feeding, detritus-feeding,
grazing and foraging traces. Bedding
planes commonly show abundant
locomotion traces.
Predominantly mobile foraging, sessile
deposit-feeding, surface-grazing and
locomotion traces. Organisms display
epifaunal and infaunal feeding strategies.
Chemosymbiosis locally important.

Planolites,
Thalassinoides, Cylindrichnus,
Asterosoma, Chondrites,
Rhizocorallium, Phycosiphon,
Zoophycos, Rosselia, Scolicia,
Palaeophycus, Ophiomorpha,
Diplocraterion, Siphonichnus,
Phoebichnus, Cruziana.

Teichichnus,

Zoophycos, Phycosiphon,
Planolites, Scolicia, Chondrites,
Helminthopsis, Thalassinoides,
Cosmorhaphe, Spirophyton,
Schaubcylindrichnus freyi,
Nereites irregularis, Asterosoma.

Seilacher (1964),
Olivero and
Gaillard (1996),
and Uchman and
Demírcan (1999)

Complex grazing and patterned
feeding/dwelling structures below the
sediment/water interface (graphoglyptids),
reflecting organized, efficient feeding
strategies to accommodate slow
accumulation of food. Some ichnogenera
reflect composite traces and
chemosymbiotic relationships with bacteria.

Nereites, Paleodictyon, Chondrites,
Cosmorhaphe, Helminthopsis,
Zoophycos, Spirophyton, Scolicia,
Planolites,Hormosiroidea,
Phycosiphon, Spirorhaphe,
Lorenzinia, Spirodesmos,
Urohelminthoida, Spirophycus,
Thalassinoides.

Seilacher (1964),
Leszczy and
Seilacher (1991),
and Wetzel, (2008)

Diplocraterion, Skolithos,
Thalassinoides, Arenicolites,
Rhizocorallium jenense,
Zoophycos, Psilonichnus,
Palaeophycus, Bergaueria,
Balanoglossites,
Gastrochaenolites.

Seilacher (1964),
Pemberton and Frey
(1985), MacEachern
et al. ( 1992),
MacEachern and
Burton (2000), and
Uchman et al. (2000)
Bromley et al.
(1984), Savrda
et al. (1993), and
Gingras et al.
(2004)

Vertical, cylindrical, U- or tear-shape
pseudo-borings or sparsely to densely
ramified dwelling burrows. Mainly
constructed as dwellings for suspension
feeders or as refugia for scavengers and
predators.

Stumpy to elongate, clavate to
subcylindrical, locally subparallel borings.
Most structures are dwellings or refugia
made by suspension feeders, passive
carnivores or scavengers. Wood-boring
bivalves also consume the wood itself.

Teredolites, Thalassinoides,
Diplocraterion, Rhizocorallium,
Rogerella, Psilonichnus,
Maeandropolydora,
Caulostrepsis, Entobia.

Vase-, tear- and/or U-shaped to irregular
borings serving as dwellings. Some
shallow, anastomose borings. Excavated
by suspension feeders and/or passive
carnivores. Surface raspings and
gnawings of fauna such as algal grazers.

Gastrochaenolites, Trypanites,
Rogerella, Entobia, ploychaete
burrows, echiniod grooves.

Bromley (1975),
Frey and Seilacher
(1980), and
Pemberton et al.
(1980)

The ichnofacies are separated into those that are contemporaneous with deposition and represent softground
conditions, and those encompassing omission suites and post-depositional (substrate-controlled) conditions.