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ichnofabrics
. In cores, where systematic identification of trace fossils can be
severely limited by poor contrast and restriction to cross-sections, the ichnofab-
ric approach is powerful indeed. It is also highly useful when time is limited.
Nevertheless, in this case as well, systematic identification of trace fossils will
yield additional insight—if time and proper material are available for such
study.
8. CONCLUSIONS
Names are necessary for discussing traces and trace fossils. Modern traces are
named according to their biological makers and classified chiefly in terms of
behavior and ecology. Trace fossils, in contrast, are named according to
use of binominal systematics and may additionally be classified according
to their toponomy, behavior (ethology), ecology, and other characteristics. This
is the paradigm established for ichnology by
Seilacher (1953)
. It is the basis for
the ichnofacies and ichnofabric concepts that have proved so useful
in
sedimentology.
No one classification of trace fossils exists, but several, and each, including
binominal systematics, is partially arbitrary. Rather than bemoan the lack of
order, ichnologists revel in the freedom to use several classifications at once
in order to glean as much information as possible from these interesting fossils.
The best classifications are those that allow the generation of new hypotheses
and predictions, reflecting patterns in the data rather than in the mind of the
observer. To think about worm burrows, think like a worm!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This contribution would not have been possible without the many hours of discussion at the
first two Workshops on Ichnotaxonomy, hosted by Richard G. Bromley and Alfred Uchman
and directed largely by Markus Bertling. A similar round of discussions took place in one of
the first courses on ichnology, taught by Robert W. Frey and S. George Pemberton at the Uni-
versity of Georgia in 1979, and this can be said to have shaped my ideas on the subject. I also
thank the reviewers, Lothar Vallon, Dirk Knaust, and Richard G. Bromley, for their insightful
comments and encouragement. Larry A. Herr drafted the figures.
REFERENCES
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