Notes on some trace fossils and other parataxa from the Maastrichtian type area, southeast Netherlands and northeast Belgium

Abstract

AbstractNew specimens described herein add to our knowledge of uncommon parataxa (embedment structures, borings and a certain type of burrow) from the type area of the Maastrichtian Stage, the material originating from the ENCI-HeidelbergCement Group (Maastricht), Ankerpoort-'t Rooth (Bemelen) and former Blom (Berg en Terblijt) quarries in southern Limburg (the Netherlands), and from the CBR-Romontbos (Eben Emael) and CPL SA (Haccourt) chalk pits in the province of Liège (northeast Belgium). AlthoughCentrichnus eccentricusBromley & Martinell has previously been recorded from this area, it has not received formal description; the specimen documented herein shares a test of the echinoidEchinocorysgr.conoideawith numerous other episkeletozoans.Podichnuscf.centrifugalisBromley & Surlyk occurs both on echinocorythid echinoid tests and guards of belemnitellid coleoids; two out of seven specimens display radial discontinuous channels, indicative of the extreme penetration of filaments from the attached brachiopod's pedicle.Renichnus arcuatusMayoral shows a range of morphologies, from the embedment structure sensu stricto through to specimens retaining internal moulds of the producing, embedded vermetid gastropod to free shells ofVermetus binkhorstiCossmann. Burrows packed with bioclastic debris, particularly primary spines and a few test plates of phymosomatid echinoids, present a systematic conundrum, although appearing comparable to the ichnogeneraNummiperaHölder andBaronichnusBreton in several respects.