An Upper Mississippian trace-fossil assemblage from the Tar Springs Sandstone, southern Illinois

A trace-fossil assemblage is exposed in the uppermost portion of an interpreted tidal sand-flat deposit in the Upper Mississippian Tar Springs Sandstone in southwestern Illinois. Sedimentary structures, indicative of a tidal origin for this unit, include herringbone crossbeds, flaser and lenticular beds, reactivation surfaces, small channel scours, and shrinkage cracks. The trace fossils include trackways, trails, feeding structures, dwelling burrows, and escape structures. Vertical dwelling and escape structures dominate the assemblage with lesser numbers of horizontal and inclined traces. The ichnological and sedimentological characteristics are diagnostic of the Skolithos ichnofacies. Preservation of the assemblage at the top of the Tar Springs Sandstone was the result of substrate stabilization as the tidal flat subsided and was transgressed. The present trace-fossil assemblage probably was formed by a combination of a pre-omission tidal-flat suite and an omission suite formed during and after the transgression. Preservation of the assemblage suggests a passive transgression with minimal scouring and reworking of the tidal-flat deposit.

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Trace-Fossil Assemblage of Early Cretaceous Sand Flat-Shallow Subtidal Environment: ABSTRACT

AAPG Bulletin ◽

10.1306/83d9254b-16c7-11d7-8645000102c1865d ◽

1976 ◽

Vol 60 ◽

Author(s):

H. Allen Curran

Keyword(s):

Early Cretaceous ◽

Trace Fossil ◽

Sand Flat ◽

Fossil Assemblage ◽

Subtidal Environment ◽

Shallow Subtidal

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Lithostratigraphy of the Kweekvlei Formation (Witteberg Group), Cape Supergroup

South African Journal of Geology ◽

10.25131/gssajg.120.3.421 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 120 (3) ◽

pp. 421-432 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

C. Browning ◽

M. Reid

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Transition Zone ◽

Distal Part ◽

Vascular Plant ◽

Trace Fossil ◽

Plant Debris ◽

Lower Carboniferous ◽

Fossil Assemblage ◽

Low Diversity ◽

Storm Wave

AbstractThe Lower Carboniferous, probably Tournaisian, Kweekvlei Formation is part of the Witteberg Group (Cape Supergroup) of South Africa. Together with the overlying Floriskraal Formation, it forms an upward-coarsening succession within the Lake Mentz Subgroup. Sedimentary features of the Kweekvlei Formation suggest deposition in a storm-wave dominated marine setting, within the storm-influenced, distal part of an offshore transition zone environment. This predominantly argillaceous formation preserves a low diversity trace fossil assemblage. Reworked vascular plant debris (including the problematic genus Praeramunculus sp.) and a shark spine have been reported for the Kweekvlei Formation. There are no known stratigraphic equivalents in South Africa.

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CHONDRITES-CLADICHNUS ICHNOCOENOSIS FROM THE DEEP-SEA DEPOSITS OF PIERFRANCESCO (CRETACEOUS; ITALY): OXYGEN- OR NUTRIENT-LIMITED?

RIVISTA ITALIANA DI PALEONTOLOGIA E STRATIGRAFIA ◽

10.54103/2039-4942/16972 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 128 (1) ◽

Author(s):

ANDREA BAUCON ◽

GIROLAMO LO RUSSO ◽

CARLOS NETO DE CARVALHO ◽

FABRIZIO FELLETTI

Keyword(s):

Late Cretaceous ◽

Deep Sea ◽

Trace Fossils ◽

Northern Apennines ◽

Trace Fossil ◽

Ecological Succession ◽

Rhythmic Pattern ◽

Low Oxygen ◽

Fossil Assemblage

The Italian Northern Apennines are acknowledged as the place where ichnology was born, but there is comparatively little work about their ichnological record. This study bridges this gap by describing two new ichnosites from the locality of Pierfrancesco, which preserve an abundant, low-disparity trace-fossil assemblage within the Late Cretaceous beds of the M. Cassio Flysch. Results show that lithofacies and ichnotaxa are rhythmically organized. The base of each cycle consists of Megagrapton-bearing calciclastic turbidites, which are overlain by marlstone beds with an abundant, low-disparity assemblage of trace fossils. This includes Chondrites intricatus, C. patulus, C. targionii, C. recurvus and Cladichnus fischeri. The cycle top consists of mudstones with no distinct burrows. The rhythmic pattern of Pierfrancesco reflects a deep-sea ecological succession, in which species and behaviour changed as turbidite-related disturbances altered the seafloor. This study opens the question of whether the Chondrites-Cladichnus ichnocoenosis represents low-oxygen or nutrient-poor settings.

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First Report: Trace Fossil Assemblage Ptychoplasma (P. excelsum, P. vagans), Dendroidichnites (D. irregulare), Ctenopholeus (?C. kutcheri) and Bergaueria (B. hemispherica) in the Cretaceous Rocks of Bagh Formation, Mainland Gujarat, India

Ichnos ◽

10.1080/10420940.2018.1561446 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 256-265

Author(s):

Balaji Bhosle ◽

Carrie Johnson ◽

Surendra Vaghela ◽

Douglas J. Schultz ◽

Vaibhav Dholakia

Keyword(s):

Trace Fossil ◽

First Report ◽

Fossil Assemblage

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Infaunal augurs of the Cambrian explosion: An Ediacaran trace fossil assemblage from Nevada, USA

Geobiology ◽

10.1111/gbi.12387 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 486-496

Author(s):

Lidya G. Tarhan ◽

Paul M. Myrow ◽

Emily F. Smith ◽

Lyle L. Nelson ◽

Peter M. Sadler

Keyword(s):

Trace Fossil ◽

Cambrian Explosion ◽

Fossil Assemblage

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Devonian depositional environments in the Darwin Mountains: Marine or non-marine?

Antarctic Science ◽

10.1017/s0954102093000276 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 211-220 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Ken J. Woolfe

Keyword(s):

Fresh Water ◽

Depositional Environment ◽

Trace Fossils ◽

Depositional Environments ◽

Trace Fossil ◽

Glacier Area ◽

Red Beds ◽

Fossil Assemblage ◽

Considerable Debate

The depositional environment of the Devonian Taylor Group has been subject to considerable debate for over 30 years. The debate stems largely from a belief that the abundant and diverse trace fossils represent a marine ichnofauna, whereas sedimentary features, including palaeosols, desiccation polygons and red beds, are more typical of a non-marine setting. The debate is reconciled by a reinterpretation of the trace fossil assemblage which shows that the trace fossils comprise a typical fresh water (Scoyenia ichnofacies) assemblage, and their occurrence in the Taylor Group in the Darwin Glacier area is entirely consistent with deposition in a mixed fluvial-lacustrine-subaerial environment.

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