''Spirorhaphe'' (sometimes misspelt ''Spiroraphe'') 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. ''Ichnotaxon'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''íchnos'') meaning "track" and English , itself derived from ...
of spiraling
burrow
file:Chipmunk-burrow (exits).jpg, 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 Animal lo ...
s.
It is associated with the ''
Nereites''
ichnofacies
An ichnofacies is an assemblage of trace fossils that provides an indication of the conditions that their formative organisms inhabited.
Concept
Trace fossil assemblages are far from random; the range of fossils recorded in association is constra ...
, which is interpreted as an indicator of deep-sea, pelagic,
turbidity current
A turbidity current is most typically an Ocean current, underwater current of usually rapidly moving, sediment-laden water moving down a slope; although current research (2018) indicates that water-saturated sediment may be the primary actor in ...
-dominated systems. It is one of the most common
graphoglyptid traces found in modern ocean beds.
References
Trace fossils
Paleozoic life of Ontario
Paleozoic life of Manitoba
Paleozoic life of Quebec
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