Tracking Ancient Life Dr Liam Herringshaw lgh 865hotmail

Key terms Bioturbation Ichnology (ichnos, Greek: footprint, track, trail) Trace Fossils

1. What are trace fossils? Sedimentary structures produced by life - Burrows, borings, tracks,

. . . and dung! The Lloyds Bank coprolite

Why they matter • • • Fossil record of behaviour Fossil record of soft-bodied

Uniformitarianism The present is the key to the past

Ichnological principles 1. Same organism; different traces Arthropod trace fossils

Ichnological principles 2. Different organisms; same traces Annelid worms Sea anemones Phoronids

Ichnological principles 3. Same trace; different preservation

2. Traces of Yorkshire What trace fossils does the museum have?

3. Common trace fossils (Burrows, trails; mostly marine)

Ichnotaxonomy N. B. Names are for trace fossil only, not organism that made the

Trace fossil? Impression of a jellyfish? Or a sand volcano?

Earliest animals? 565 Ma locomotion trails, Newfoundland: Liu et al. (2010) http: //geology. gsapubs.

The Cambrian Explosion Seilacher & Pfluger (1994)

Becoming upright Trackway analysis shows tetrapods become bipedal in early Triassic Kubo & Benton

5. The speed of dinosaurs? • • • Type of footprint? Footprint size? Animal

Calculating trackmaker speed v = 0. 25*g 0. 5*SL 1. 67*h-1. 17 Or, more

Slides: 39

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Tracking Ancient Life Dr Liam Herringshaw lgh 865@hotmail. com

Key terms Bioturbation Ichnology (ichnos, Greek: footprint, track, trail) Trace Fossils

1. What are trace fossils? Sedimentary structures produced by life - Burrows, borings, tracks, trails, roots. . .

. . . and dung! The Lloyds Bank coprolite

Why they matter • • • Fossil record of behaviour Fossil record of soft-bodied organisms Organism-environment interactions Ecological niche creation Nutrient flux Taphonomy Luminous lugworm

Uniformitarianism The present is the key to the past

Ichnological principles 1. Same organism; different traces Arthropod trace fossils

Ichnological principles 2. Different organisms; same traces Annelid worms Sea anemones Phoronids

Ichnological principles 3. Same trace; different preservation

2. Traces of Yorkshire What trace fossils does the museum have?

3. Common trace fossils (Burrows, trails; mostly marine)

Ichnotaxonomy N. B. Names are for trace fossil only, not organism that made the structure

Planolites

Skolithos

Thalassinoides

Thalassinoides tracemaker?

Chondrites

Ophiomorpha

Ophiomorpha tracemaker?

Rhizocorallium

Rusophycus

Rusophycus tracemaker?

Trace fossil? Impression of a jellyfish? Or a sand volcano?

Not trace fossils Shrinkage cracks

Not trace fossils Flute casts

Hand Specimens: What Have You Got?

4. The Fossil Record of Behaviour

Earliest animals? 565 Ma locomotion trails, Newfoundland: Liu et al. (2010) http: //geology. gsapubs. org/ content/38/2/123. abstract

Ediacaran-Cambrian boundary

Cambrian complexity

The Cambrian Explosion Seilacher & Pfluger (1994)

Onshore to offshore

Colonization of land

Plant Trace Fossils

Becoming upright Trackway analysis shows tetrapods become bipedal in early Triassic Kubo & Benton (2009) http: //onlinelibrary. wiley. com/doi/10. 1111 /j. 1475 -4983. 2009. 00897. x/full

The speed of dinosaurs

5. The speed of dinosaurs? • • • Type of footprint? Footprint size? Animal size? Stride length? Speed? Behaviour?

Calculating trackmaker speed v = 0. 25*g 0. 5*SL 1. 67*h-1. 17 Or, more simply: Hip height = 4 x footprint length Stride length/ hip height = speed (<2 = walking, >3 = running) Sheffield Geology Group – dinosaur speed calculator: http: //www. sorbygeology. group. shef. ac. uk/DINOC 01/dinocal 1. htm l

Useful links www. fossilhub. org