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Asteriacites

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Star-like fossil imprints

Asteriacites
Temporal range: Ordovician–Holocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Asteriacites lumbricalis, a trace fossil of an ophiuroid echinoderm; Carmel Formation (Middle Jurassic), near Gunlock, Utah
Trace fossil classification Edit this classification
Ichnofamily: †Asteriacitidae
Ichnogenus: †Asteriacites
von Schlotheim, 1820
Ichnospecies
  • †Asteriacites lumbricallis von Schlotheim, 1820
  • †Asteriacites stelliformis (Miller & Dyer, 1878) Osgood, 1970
  • †Asteriacites quinquefolius (Quenstedt, 1876) Seilacher, 1953
Synonyms
  • Heliophycus Miller & Dyer, 1878
  • Spongaster Fritsch, 1908 non Ehrenberg, 1860

Asteriacites is a type of five-rayed trace fossil found in marine sedimentary rocks. It records the burrows of ophiuroid and asteroid sea stars on the sea floor. Asteriacites is found in European and American rocks, from the Ordovician period onwards, and is especially numerous in the Triassic and Jurassic systems.

Dense assemblages of Asteriacites ('Asteriacites beds') are considered proxies for marine settings, low bioturbation intensity, shallow tiering, high sedimentation rate and/or event-bed deposition, significant levels of hydrodynamic energy, and low predation pressure.

Gallery

  • Asteriacites from the Devonian of northeastern Ohio; this trace was made by an asteroid echinoderm Asteriacites from the Devonian of northeastern Ohio; this trace was made by an asteroid echinoderm
  • Bedding plane view of Asteriacites from the Snapper Point Formation (Permian), New South Wales Bedding plane view of Asteriacites from the Snapper Point Formation (Permian), New South Wales

References

  1. ^ Knaust, Dirk; Neumann, Christian (2016). "Asteriacites von Schlotheim, 1820 – the oldest valid ichnogenus name – and other asterozoan-produced trace fossils". Earth-Science Reviews. 157: 111–120. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.04.003. ISSN 0012-8252. (Erratum: doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.02.005)
  2. Mángano, M.G.; Buatois, L.A.; West, R.R.; Maples, C.G. (1999). "The origin and paleoecologic significance of the trace fossil Asteriacites in the Pennsylvanian of Kansas and Missouri". Lethaia. 32 (1): 17–30. Bibcode:1999Letha..32...17M. doi:10.1111/j.1502-3931.1999.tb00577.x.
  3. Wilson, M.A.; Rigby, J.K. (2000). "Asteriacites lumbricalis von Schlotheim 1820: ophiuroid trace fossils from the Lower Triassic Thaynes Formation, central Utah". Ichnos. 7 (1): 43–49. Bibcode:2000Ichno...7...43W. doi:10.1080/10420940009380145. S2CID 129314190.
  4. ^ Baucon, A., Neto de Carvalho, C. 2016. Stars of the aftermath: Asteriacites beds from the Lower Triassic of the Carnic Alps (Werfen Formation, Sauris di Sopra), Italy. Palaios 31. Abstract available at http://www.tracemaker.com
Taxon identifiers
Asteriacites


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