Xylic Substrates Research Articles

Bored log-grounds by teredinid bivalves in marine deposits from the Monos Formation (Upper Cretaceous) in central Cuba

Abstract Borings of Apectoichnus longissimus and Teredolites clavatus are described from wood fragments preserved in sandstone deposits of the Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) Monos Formation in central Cuba. In addition, palaeobiological, palaeoecological and taphonomic implications of these are inferred. The borings are interpreted as mainly produced by Teredinid marine bivalves, which inhabited driftwood substrates. The taphonomic features such as mode of occurrence, density and position of the borings within the relict log-grounds suggest: (i) post-burial compaction of the xylic substrates by the surrounding sediments during burial, (ii) different ontogenetic stages and colonization episodes of teredinids on the studied wood fragments and (iii) different residence time of the wood fragments floating or near the sediment–water interface. Furthermore, the accumulation of wood fragments with A . longissimus and T . clavatus in the shallow marine deposits of the Monos Formation was probably the result of a marine transgression event in these deposits, thus leaving them exposed to attack by teredinid larvae. This study explores the life histories and taphonomic histories of teredinid bivalves and wood fragments in the Monos Formation, adding to the literature on ichnofossils in this lithostratigraphic unit.

Bivalve bioerosion in Cretaceous-Neogene amber around the globe, with implications for the ichnogenera Teredolites and Apectoichnus

Amber samples with bivalve borings from six localities around the world, ranging in age from Hauterivian to Miocene, have been studied. The possible assignment to Teredolites or Gastrochaenolites is discussed considering the type of substrate as an ichnotaxobase. It is proposed to regard amber or similar resins as a variant of xylic substrates and to maintain the separation between the two ichnogenera and their different paleoecological implications. The amber borings are assigned to Teredolites clavatus Leymerie, 1842 and Apectoichnus longissimus (Kelly and Bromley, 1984), respectively. The presence of bioglyphs in a few borings suggests a mechanical production process, with pholadid bivalves such as Martesia preserved inside many of the samples representing the producer. In general, the amber-producing trees mostly grew along a forested coastline, where they were occasionally flooded by seawater or even transported from rivers into the sea and later deposited.

Bioerosion ichnotaxa: review and annotated list

A remarkable diversity of bioerosion trace fossils is reflected by the plethora of ichnotaxa that has been proposed for these structures during the past two centuries. Bioerosion traces include microborings, macroborings, grazing traces, attachment etchings, and predation traces. They occur in calcareous, siliceous, osteic, and xylic substrates, and are known or interpreted to be produced by tracemakers as diverse as bacteria, fungi, algae, invertebrates, and vertebrates. This review presents the status quo of an inventory of all bioerosion ichnotaxa currently recognized as valid, comprising 123 ichnogenera and 339 ichnospecies, including 45 combinationes novae, the majority of which on account of fossil sponge bioerosion traces formerly grouped within the sponge biotaxon Cliona. In addition, the spelling of several ichnotaxa has to be corrected, leading to eight nomina corrigenda, and three cases of primary or secondary homonymy require establishing nomina nova, i.e., the new ichnogenus name Irhopalia replacing Rhopalia Radtke, 1991, as well as the new ichnospecies names Entobia morrisi replacing E. glomerata (Morris, 1851) and Entobia tuberculata replacing E. mammillata Bromley and D’Alessandro, 1984, respectively. Ichnotaxa of dubious or invalid nomenclatural status currently include an additional 76 ichnogenera and 157 ichnospecies. The invalid ichnogenus Ipites is herein reinstated as new ichnogenus. Considering that only four valid (and one invalid) ichnofamilies had previously been established for bioerosion ichnotaxa, we here introduce a suite of 14 additional ichnofamilies: Gastrochaenolitidae, Talpinidae, Entobiaidae, Planobulidae, Ichnoreticulinidae, Saccomorphidae, Centrichnidae, Renichnidae, Podichnidae, Gnathichnidae, Circolitidae, Oichnidae, Belichnidae, and Machichnidae. During the past five decades, the number of valid bioerosion ichnotaxa has more than quadrupled, reflecting a boost in bioerosion research, but also indicating the need for ichnotaxonomic consolidation in concert with a revision of key ichnogenera. In this context, the aim of this overview is to call for feedback from the research community in order to foster completeness of this list and to provide ichnotaxonomic stability. Furthermore, we want to raise awareness of the existence of the listed ichnotaxa, many of which obviously have remained unconsidered or forgotten for a long time.

TRANSGRESSIVE EROSION EXPRESSED AS A GLOSSIFUNGITES-BEARING WOODGROUND: AN EXAMPLE FROM THE BLACKHAWK FORMATION, UTAH

Horizontal and inclined U-shaped trace fossils are commonly associated with the Cruziana and Glossifungites ichnofacies, but have rarely been described as a component of the Teredolites ichnofacies (xylic substrates). This study provides several examples of morphologies of Glossifungites saxicava from the Campanian Sunnyside Coal (Blackhawk Formation) that exhibit both xenoglyphs and bioglyphs. Glossifungites along this surface are locally present as compound ?Thalassinoides suevicus-Glossifungites, which may represent a combination of commensalism, an exploited structural weakness, refugium from predators, and/or a secondary behavior of the presumed crustacean tracemakers. The trace-fossil assemblage also contains Teredolites clavatus and Teredolites longissimus and Radichnus isp. locally. Stratigraphically, this trace assemblage is important because it marks a marine flooding surface/transgressive surface of erosion between the Sunnyside and Grassy members of the Blackhawk Formation.

Holes in Bones: Ichnotaxonomy of Bone Borings

ABSTRACTBone is a substrate for bioerosion at equal rank with xylic and lithic substrates. Accordingly, borings in bone have to be identified in an analogous way to other ichnogenera coined for one type of substrate. In due course, the new ichnogenera Osteichnus n. igen. and Clavichnus n. igen. are established within the new ichnofamily Osteichnidae. Gastrochaenolites and Trypanites are here restricted to lithic substrates, and Asthenopodichnium only occurs in xylic substrates. Only with this approach, ichnotaxobases of trace fossils in bone are identical to those in other hard substrates. Cuniculichnus variabilis n. igen. n. isp. is introduced for variably shaped pits to tunnels bored into bone by beetle (arguably dermestid) larvae; its ethological character is close to a pupichnion.

Aspects of clavate borings in the type Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) of the Netherlands and Belgium

We describe a collection of borings in carbonate and xylic substrates (Gastrochaenolites ispp., Teredolites longissimus Kelly & Bromley), some of them containing their producers, from the Maastricht and Houthem formations (late Maastrichtian and early Danian) in the type area of the Maastrichtian Stage, but mainly from the ENCI-HeidelbergCement Group quarry, St. Pietersberg (southern Limburg, the Netherlands). Included are specimens of Gastrochaenolites dijugus Kelly & Bromley, showing different modes of formation of the figure-of-eight aperture, either as part of the lining, incorporating the substrate or both. Gastrochaenolites lapidicus Kelly & Bromley was produced by the gastrochaenid bivalve Gastrochaena, whereas G. orbicularis Kelly & Bromley is the trace of Jouannetia supracretacea (De Ryckholt). Bioglyph-like infills of G. orbicularis and G. torpedo Kelly & Bromley rather represent external moulds of the producing bivalves; they are termed pseudobioglyphs herein. Teredolites longissimus is preserved as clusters of in situ, parallel to sub-parallel tubes, although the woody substrate has decayed, and disarticulated fragments of calcareous tubes have been released from rotten wood. The latter include some specimens filled by flint and show good three-dimensional preservation. Some notes on the taxonomy of the producing bivalve taxa are added.

Ichnospecies Teredolites longissimus and Teredinid Body Fossils from the Early Eocene of India—Taphonomic and Palaeoenvironmental Implications

Extensively bored log-grounds with ichnospecies Teredolites longissimus and body fossils of the causative teredinid molluscs are recorded from the Early Eocene subsurface beds of the Cambay Shale Formation at Vastan lignite Mine in western India. Three sizes of T. longissimus observed in Vastan mostly represent animals in different stages of maturity or successive infestation of substrate. Orientation of a majority of small borings suggests that teredinid larvae preferred to initiate boring across the wood grain and subsequently turned to become parallel to grain exhibiting adult boring behavior. Variations in morphology of recovered shells indicate involvement of at least two teredinid taxa in constructing T. longissimus from Vastan—one is identified as Bankia isp. based on pallets and the other remains unidentified and may possibly represent another bankiine, Nototeredo. Evidences of traumatic as well as attritional mortality are noticeable. The xylic substrates having affinity with woods of a modern tree genus Aglaia (Meliaceae) were apparently transported from their natural habitat of an inland moist tropical forest to the coastal region where they were colonized by the teredinid bivalves. The profusely infested wood logs were buried in a near shore lagoon or a tidal flat setting, which is corroborated by the known biota (vertebrate, invertebrate as well as plants) as well as sedimentary facies of the Cambay Shale Formation in Vastan section.

Modern Perspectives on the Teredolites Ichnofacies: Observations from Willapa Bay, Washington

Other| February 01, 2004 Modern Perspectives on the Teredolites Ichnofacies: Observations from Willapa Bay, Washington MURRAY K. GINGRAS; MURRAY K. GINGRAS 1Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E3, Canada, mgingras@ualberta.ca Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar JAMES A. MACEACHERN; JAMES A. MACEACHERN 2Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar RON K. PICKERILL RON K. PICKERILL 3Department of Geology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5A3, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information MURRAY K. GINGRAS 1Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E3, Canada, mgingras@ualberta.ca JAMES A. MACEACHERN 2Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada RON K. PICKERILL 3Department of Geology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5A3, Canada Publisher: SEPM Society for Sedimentary Geology Accepted: 08 Aug 2003 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1938-5323 Print ISSN: 0883-1351 Society for Sedimentary Geology PALAIOS (2004) 19 (1): 79–88. https://doi.org/10.1669/0883-1351(2004)019<0079:MPOTTI>2.0.CO;2 Article history Accepted: 08 Aug 2003 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation MURRAY K. GINGRAS, JAMES A. MACEACHERN, RON K. PICKERILL; Modern Perspectives on the Teredolites Ichnofacies: Observations from Willapa Bay, Washington. PALAIOS 2004;; 19 (1): 79–88. doi: https://doi.org/10.1669/0883-1351(2004)019<0079:MPOTTI>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyPALAIOS Search Advanced Search Abstract This study details occurrences of Teredolites ichnocoenoses from modern bay-margin settings in Willapa Bay, Washington. In particular, the paper scrutinizes in situ log-grounds from two intertidal zones situated immediately seaward of low-lying, supratidal, forested marshlands that are fed by small streams. Vestiges of remnant marshes and streams are preserved on intertidal flats as in-situ roots, broken stumps, strewn logs, abundant organic detritus, and organic sandy mud. Xylic material and organic sediment were deposited in the supratidal marshes: tide and wave processes truncated the swamps, exposing in situ tree-root networks and the lowermost supratidal sediments. Stream and swamp deposits overlie and incise older Pleistocene strata. Both units are overlain by discontinuous, modern intertidal deposits.The intertidally exposed stumps and logs support a diverse community of animal and plant life. Boring organisms, encrusters, and refugium seekers are found on and within the xylic substrates. Some encrusting animals and all of the boring fauna produce traces that are comparable to ichnofossils reported by palichnologists. Wood-boring traces reported in this study are similar morphologically to the ichnogenera Caulostrepsis, Entobia, Meandropolydora, Psilonichnus, Rogerella, Teredolites, Thalassinoides, and Trypanites. Most of these ichnogenera have not been reported from rock-record examples of the Teredolites ichnofacies.The stratigraphic and environmental significance of the reported (modern) locales is consistent with previous studies that associate Teredolites ichnofacies with base-level rise in marginal-marine environments. At Willapa Bay, bored xylic media form a coeval surface with adjacent, burrowed firmgrounds as well as softgrounds. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

Behavioral implications of branching and tube‐lining inTeredolites

Observations on Teredolites (clavate borings in xylic substrates) produced by wood‐boring bivalves in both Recent and fossil marine woodgrounds warrant comment on two hithertofore unrecognized or neglected morphologic features, both of which have behavioral significance; true branching and calcite linings. Branching, often associated with reduced or terminated diametric growth of tunnels, is recognized as a locally common morphologic variation in T. longis‐simus within Cretaceous to Recent woodgrounds. Like other aspects of axial stenomorphism, this branching records the attempt oftere‐dinid bivalves to maintain endoxylic deposit‐feeding activity in increasingly crowded, fractionated substrates. Calcite tunnel linings, which are characteristic of T. longissimus produced by teredinids, occupy an equivocal position relative to body fossils and ichnofossils. Nonetheless, variations in lining morphology (e.g., tube length, presence or absence of anterior and retrusive caps) are more a reflection of varying behavior than of zootaxonomy or ontogeny. Hence, in contrast to the opinion of previous workers, we argue that linings should be regarded in ichnoterminology pertaining to Teredolites.

The Ichnofossil Record of Hymenopteran Nesting Behavior from Mesozoic and Cenozoic Pedogenic and Xylic Substrates: Example of Relative Stasis

The Ichnofossil Record of Hymenopteran Nesting Behavior from Mesozoic and Cenozoic Pedogenic and Xylic Substrates: Example of Relative Stasis

Log‐ground andTeredoliteslagerstatte in a Trangressive Sequence, Upper Cretaceous (Lower Campanian) Mooreville Chalk, central Alabama

Teredolites‐bearing log‐grounds occur in extraordinary abundance within basal transgressive deposits of the Upper Cretaceous Mooreville Chalk exposed along Catoma Creek, central Alabama. Wood and borings are virtually restricted to a thin (∼1 m) stratigraphically condensed, shallow‐marine interval characterized by two indurated, Thalassinoides‐burrowed, very sandy, glauconitic, micritic limestones and an intervening glauconitic, muddy sand. Minimum estimates of wood‐substrate densities, measured on extensive bedding‐plane surfaces, range from 1.5 logs/100 m2 in the lower limestone to 6.2 logs/100 m2 in the upper limestone. Owing to early biochemical degradation of wood at or very near the sea floor, the majority of substrates are relict log‐grounds preserved as dense clusters of calcite‐lined, sediment‐ or mineral‐filled borings assigned to Teredolites longissimus, with only remnants of lignified wood in the interstices. Disposition of log‐grounds, which range from 2 to 170 cm (average = 25 cm) in length, is indicative of periodic reworking by currents. As are other recently reported occurrences (Savrda, 1991; Savrda et al., in press), this Teredolites lagerstätte is interpreted to record (1) an influx pulse of xylic substrates into marine environments resulting from transgressive inundation of a forested coastal plain and (2) the concentration of drifted substrates via sediment starvation on a marine shelf, both of which were induced by rapid sea‐level rise. Differences in log‐ground abundances and preservational states between this and previously described condensed‐section occurrences likely are related to differences in absolute water depth and associated fades variations.

Log-Grounds and the Ichnofossil Teredolites in Transgressive Deposits of the Clayton Formation (Lower Paleocene), Western Alabama

A thin (∼1.5 m) transgressive systems tract within the Lower Paleocene Clayton Formation of western Alabama, composed of, in ascending order, a sandy pebbly marlstone (transgressive lag), calcareous muds, and a chalk (condensed section), contains an unusual abundance of allochthonous logs with Teredolites, a clavate boring produced within xylic substrates. Borings are characterised by diameters ranging from 1 to 15 mm, high length/width ratios, contorted axes oriented primarily parallel to the grain of substrates, calcite linings, and rare terminal bioglyphs. Although no body fossil evidence for the affinity of the boring organisms is preserved, these morphological characteristics, which are most allied with the ichnotaxon T. longissimus, reflect the boring activities of wood-digesting bivalves of the family Teredinidae

Teredolites, wood substrates, and sea-level dynamics

Allochthonous logs and/or Teredolites , clavate borings produced within xylic (wood) substrates, occur in extraordinary abundance as sedimentary components in transgressive marine shelf deposits of the lower Paleocene Clayton Formation in western Alabama. It is pro-posed herein that the abundance and preservational state of these components were controlled by (1) an influx pulse of xylic substrates into marine and marginal-marine environments, (2) hydraulic concentration of substrates during ravinement, and (3) condensation associated with sediment starvation, all three of which are induced by sea-level rise. The proposed relations among fossil wood, ichnofossils produced therein, and sea-level dynamics may be of use in the discrimination of sequence stratigraphic packages and their bounding surfaces; these relations also have implications for paleobotanical prospecting and the biological evolution and stratigraphic distribution of marine organisms that inhabit xylic substrates.