Invertebrate coprolites and cololites revised

Abstract

AbstractFossilized faeces (bromalites) are common in the geological record and have been recognized for centuries, first for their peculiarity and later for sedimentological and palaeontological analysis. Coprolites (the ejected faecal material) and cololites (faecal material preserved in the gut) may be morphologically and compositionally similar and are dealt with in parataxonomic classification as trace fossils. While much effort has been put into the study of coprolites produced by vertebrates, invertebrate coprolites remain poorly understood and information about them is scattered. The last systematic overview of all invertebrate coprolite ichnotaxa known was compiled inTreatise on Invertebrate Paleontologyin 1975, but since then the number of ichnogenera has more than doubled and many taxonomic changes have been made. This revision provides an updated classification of invertebrate coprolites and cololites according to the taxonomic ranks of ichnofamilies (4), ichnogenera (36) and ichnospecies (141). The following new ichnotaxa and combinations are established: Bactrylliidae ifam. nov.;Tubulaspiraigen. nov.;Cilindrotomaculum houi(Chen & Erdtmann) comb. nov.;Coprulus paramolus(Bischoff) comb. nov.;Coptocampylodon gramanni(Gaillard) comb. nov.;Coptocampylodon hemistriatus(Gaillard) comb. nov.;Coptocampylodon porcaeformis(Bischoff) comb. nov.;Coptocampylodon partitus(Bischoff) comb. nov.;Isvilina cryptillus(Bischoff) comb. nov.; andTubulaspira iecta(Schallreuter) comb. nov.