SOME ICHNOLOGICAL CONCEPTS, METHODOLOGIES, APPLICATIONS AND FRONTIERS

Abstract

Ichnology straddles the boundary between palaeontology and sedimentology, and is becoming an increasingly important tool in both fields. For the palaeontologist, trace fossils allow insight into behaviour and biomechanics of animals that would otherwise be the subject of conjecture. For the sedimentologist, trace fossils have a marked impact on the interpretation of sedimentary rocks in that they destroy primary sedimentary structures, but can also reveal subtle palaeoenvironmental information beyond the resolution attainable by analysis of primary physical sedimentary structures. This contribution aims to review the major developments in the field of ichnology, and to highlight some of the tools and approaches currently used by ichnologists. A personal ethos for the study of trace fossils in core is outlined as a model ichnological protocol, and some of the frontiers of the science as a whole are briefly discussed.