Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
In the early stages of ichnological study in Japan, trace fossils were simply
referred to as sand pipes or problematica.
Archaeozostera
, a trace fossil occur-
ring in Cretaceous turbidites, has a place of relevance in the ichnological history
of Japan. In Japanese folklore, this structure is referred to as
Shobu-ishi
, which
relates to plants.
Koriba and Miki (1931)
assigned the name
Archaeozostera
and
considered it a plant fossil of an ancestor of marine seagrass. Nevertheless, the
most accepted hypothesis interprets
Archaeozostera
as a trace fossil (e.g.,
Seilacher, 2008
). Ichnology in China started with the report of vertebrate foot-
prints (
Young, 1929
) and
Cruziana
(
Yin, 1932
). During this stage, Chinese
scholars had only a rudimentary knowledge of trace fossils and provided preva-
lently morphological descriptions.
8.2 The Senckenberg Marine Institute
The pictured scenario reveals a widespread crisis in almost all Europe and a slow
development in the rest of the world. Nevertheless, this historical period
is synchronously marked by major advances related to the Senckenberg Labo-
ratory, the first marine institute devoted to the comparison of modern and
fossil depositional environments. Founded by Rudolf Richter in 1928 at
Wilhelmshaven (Wadden Sea), it is regarded as the birthplace of modern
ichnology (
Cad´e and Goldring, 2007
).
What prompted this change in the way of studying traces was a combination
of factors. Translations and reviews of Lyell's
Principles of Geology
were pub-
lished, especially in France and Germany, from the late 1830s onward (
Vaccari,
1998
). German geoscientists were particularly receptive to modern environ-
ments, as shown by the influential work of Johannes Walther (
Middleton,
2003
). Of further significance for neoichnology, Nathorst's work promptly pen-
etrated the German-speaking area, as recognized by
Fuchs (1895)
.
In this scientific context, Rudolf Richter developed a strong interest for tidal
areas as open-air laboratories where one may see geology at work. For instance,
he spent several weeks on a
Wohnbake
(a tidal palafitte-like observation post)
with his wife Emma (
Cad
´
e and Goldring, 2007
). It was probably during that
and similar fieldwork that he sought a permanent facility for the study of mod-
ern environments. Richter fulfilled this idea in 1928, when he founded the
“Senckenberg am Meer” Institute in Wilhelmshaven (Germany). From the very
beginning of the institute, ichnology occupied a central place. Soon, the Senck-
enberg Marine Institute became renowned as a center for ichnology and a magnet
for biologists and paleontologists alike.
As a result of his actualistic research, Richter coined the terms
Aktuopala
¨
on-
tologie
(
Richter, 1928
) and
bioturbate Textur
(
Richter, 1952
). The Senckenberg
Marine Institute had profound and far-reaching effects on the history of ichnol-
ogy, being a source of inspiration for generations of ichnologists. Richter's
articles on modern analogs of
Skolithos
were influential for his contemporaries,
such as the Fentons (
Cad´e and Goldring, 2007
). In this regard, numerous
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