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Gnathichnus

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Gnathichnus
Gnathichnus pentax echinoid trace fossil on an oyster from the Cenomanian of Hamakhtesh Hagadol, southern Israel.
Trace fossil classification Edit this classification
Ichnofamily: Gnathichnidae
Ichnogenus: Gnathichnus
Bromley, 1975
Type ichnospecies
Gnathichnus pentax
Bromley, 1975
Synonyms[1]
  • Roderosignus Michalík, 1977
  • Asteriastoma Breton, 1992
Oral surface of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus showing the teeth of the Aristotle's Lantern, which can make the trace Gnathichnus.

Gnathichnus is a trace fossil on a hard substrate (typically a shell, rock or hardground made of calcium carbonate) formed by regular echinoids as they scraped the surface with their five-toothed Aristotle's Lantern feeding structures.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Wisshak, M.; Knaust, D.; Bertling, M. (2019). "Bioerosion ichnotaxa: review and annotated list". Facies. 65 (2): 24. doi:10.1007/s10347-019-0561-8.
  2. ^ Bromley, R.G. (1975). "Comparative analysis of fossil and recent echinoid bioerosion". Palaeontology. 18: 725–739.