Comment on 'Bioerosion, preparation and curation'

Abstract

We welcome the recent note by Radley and Twitchett (2004) for bringing one of the more unloved groups of fossils sensu lato into the curatorial limelight. Invertebrate trace fossils in any form, but particularly shallow-tier bioerosion structures, may cause curatorial headaches, and we consider discussion of these problems important in placing them on a secure and informed footing in museum collections. Trace fossils are arguably the most "difficult" palaeontological objects that may be under the care of a curator in a geology museum. They are not fossils per se, but structures generated by the activities of organisms. Tracks, trails and burrows require curation with relevant sedimentological data such as details of original orientation if they are to be of continuing value; those which are preserved within the structure of another organism (boring) or on a lithified surface (shallow-tier bioerosion) require the substrate details to be recorded. Problems of classification may arise when evidence for their purported producing organism(s) enables their biological "affinity" to be postulated, giving them an enhanced biological value, yet potentially leading to nomenclatorial confusion for the uninitiated