''Rhizocorallium'' is an
ichnogenus
An ichnotaxon (plural ichnotaxa) is "a taxon based on the fossilized work of an organism", i.e. the non-human equivalent of an artifact. ''Ichnotaxa'' comes from the Greek ίχνος, ''ichnos'' meaning ''track'' and ταξις, ''taxis'' meaning ...
of
burrow
An Eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow
A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of sh ...
, the inclination of which is typically within 10° of the bedding planes of the
sediment
Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...
. These burrows can be very large, over a meter long in sediments that show good preservation, e.g.
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...
rocks of the Yorkshire Coast (eastern United Kingdom), but the width is usually only up to 2 cm, restricted by the size of the organisms producing it. It is thought that they represent
fodinichnia
Fodinichnia (singular fodinichnion) are trace fossils formed by deposit feeders as they excavate the sediment in search of food.Allaby A & Allaby M (1999) Oxford Dictionary of Earth Sciences. They tend to have repeated patterns (e.g. '' Chondrit ...
as the animal (probably a
polychaete
Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class (biology), class of generally marine invertebrate, marine annelid worms, common name, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that ...
) scoured the sediment for food.
Ichnogenus
The ichnogenus ''Rhizocorallium'' Zenker 1836 includes three ichnospecies: ''Rhizocorallium jenense'' Zenker 1836 representing straight, short U-shaped
spreite
Spreite, meaning Lamina (leaf), leaf-blade in German (or spreiten, the plural form in German language, German) is a stacked, curved, layered structure that is characteristic of certain trace fossils. They are formed by invertebrate organisms tunn ...
-burrows commonly oblique to bedding plane, and only rarely horizontal, ''Rhizocorallium irregulare'' Mayer 1954 representing long, sinuous, bifurcating or planispiral U-shaped spreite-burrows, mainly horizontal, and ''Rhizocorallium uliarense'' Firtion 1958 representing trochospiral U-shaped spreite-burrows (definitions after Fürsich 1974).
References
* Fürsich, F.T. 1974. Ichnogenus Rhizocorallium. Paläontologische Zeitschrift 48, 16–28.
* Kowal-Linka M., Bodzioch A. 2011. Sedimentological implications of an unusual form of the trace fossil Rhizocorallium from the Lower Muschelkalk (Middle Triassic), S. Poland. Facies 57: 695–703.
* Rodríguez-Tovar, F., J., Pérez-Valera F. 2008. Trace fossil Rhizocorallium from the Middle Triassic of the Betic Cordillera, southern Spain: characterization and environmental implications. Palaios, 23, p. 78–86.
* Schlirf, M. 2000. Upper Jurassic trace fossils from the Boulonnais (northern France). Geologica et Palaeontologica, 34: 145–213.
Burrow fossils
{{trace-fossil-stub