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Research Articles: Ichnology |
1 Department of Geological Sciences, 316 Clippinger Laboratories, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701, U.S.A.; hembree{at}ohio.edu
2 Department of Geology, Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center, University of Kansas, 1475 Jayhawk Boulevard, 120 Lindley Hall, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, U.S.A.
A noichnological experiment using the Kenyan sand boa, Eryx colubrinus, reveals the diversity of biogenic structures produced by sand-swimming vertebrates in unconsolidated sand. Documentation of these biogenic structures will aid in the identification and interpretation of similar ichnofossils in the geologic record and help improve paleoenvironmental and paleoecological reconstructions. Two sand boas and three sand-filled chambers containing 1–3 cm thick layers of fine- to medium-grained sand were used in this burrowing experiment. The burrowing activities of the snakes were observed over a 14-day period and the chambers were photographed regularly to record sediment disturbance.
Eryx colubrinus produced a number of biogenic structures including (1) cone-shaped, downward-tapering features; (2) straight, vertical tubes; (3) elongate, sinuous tunnels; (4) semicircular, concave divots; (5) downward- and upward-deflected laminae; and (6) offset laminae. These different trace morphologies are present together, forming a large compound ichnofossil resulting from locomotion, resting, and dwelling behaviors. Absent from the sand-swimming biogenic structures were active backfill features, open tunnels, and burrow linings.
The recognition and interpretation of ichnofossils in the rock record of sand-swimming vertebrates requires their association with assemblages of known terrestrial body and trace fossils, rhizoliths, and pedogenic fabrics. Given the ecology of extant sand-swimming vertebrates, their biogenic structures characterize loose sediments with low interstitial moisture and environments with arid to semiarid climates. The biogenic structures produced in this experiment represent a new type of previously unrecognized biodiversity—that of sand-swimming vertebrates. In order to understand the evolution of fossorial behavior in continental vertebrates, recognition of the morphology of all types of interactions between vertebrates and the sediment must be considered.
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  M.E. ZORN, M.K. GINGRAS, and S.G. PEMBERTON VARIATION IN BURROW-WALL MICROMORPHOLOGIES OF SELECT INTERTIDAL INVERTEBRATES ALONG THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST, USA: BEHAVIORAL AND DIAGENETIC IMPLICATIONS Palaios, January 1, 2010; 25(1): 59 - 72. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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K. SEIKE INFLUENCE OF BEACH MORPHODYNAMICS ON THE DISTRIBUTIONS OF THE OPHELIID POLYCHAETE EUZONUS SP. AND ITS FEEDING BURROWS ON A SANDY BEACH: PALEOECOLOGICAL AND PALEOENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS FOR THE TRACE FOSSIL MACARONICHNUS SEGREGATIS Palaios, December 1, 2009; 24(12): 799 - 808. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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D. I. Hembree Neoichnology of burrowing millipedes: Linking modern burrow morphology, organism behavior, and sediment properties to interpret continental ichnofossils Palaios, July 1, 2009; 24(7): 425 - 439. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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J. J. Smith and S. T. Hasiotis Traces and burrowing behaviors of the cicada nymph Cicadetta calliope: Neoichnology and paleoecological significance of extant soil-dwelling insects Palaios, August 1, 2008; 23(8): 503 - 513. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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D. B. Loope Life Beneath the Surfaces of Active Jurassic Dunes: Burrows from the Entrada Sandstone of South-Central Utah Palaios, June 1, 2008; 23(6): 411 - 419. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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