- Ichnia 2016

Ichnotaxonomy, poster presentations
1
Demírcan et al
2
Demírcan et al II
3
Oliva and Arregui
4
Ponomorenko and Ponomorenko.docx
5
Stachacz et al
6
Verde et al
7
Ichnotaxonomy, poster presentations
1
LATE CAMBRIAN-EARLY ORDOVICIAN TRACE FOSSILS FROM THE SEYDİŞEHİR
FORMATION (AMANOS MOUNTAINS, SE ANATOLIA, TURKEY)
Huriye
1
Muhammed
1
Çoban
& Özgür
1
Deveci
Department of Geological Research, General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration
(MTA), 06520, Ankara, Turkey
ABSTRACT
A
1
Demircan &
SEYDİŞEHİR FORMATION
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING AND
GEOLOGICAL MAP
diverse trace fossil assemblage is described for the first
time from slightly metamorphosed siliciclastic rocks of the
Seydişehir Formation in the Amanos region of SE Anatolia.
The Seydisehir Formation, includes very low-grade
metasedimentary rocks composed of slates, phyllites,
metasandstones, and metasiltstones. This succession consists
of coarsening- and thickening-upward successions that are
interpreted as tempestites deposited in a shelf environment.
The sequence contains an assemblage of abundant, diverse,
and well-preserved ichnofossils comprising Archaeonassa
isp., Bergaueria isp., Cruziana isp., Cruziana furcifera,
Cruziana rugosa, ?Cruziana semiplicata, Didymaulichnus isp.,
Diplichnites isp., Diplocraterion isp., ?Gyrolithes polonicus,
?Gyrophyllites isp., Monocraterion isp., Palaeophycus
striatus, Palaeophycus tubularis , Phycodes cf. circinatus,
Phycodes palmatus, Phycodes isp., Planolites isp.,
Rusophycus isp., Skolithos isp., and Trichophycus isp. They
belong to the archetypal Cruziana ichnofacies. Several of
these trace fossils were probably made by arthropods.
Cruziana ichnostratigraphy, used in Gondwana, allows an age
determination of Middle Cambrian to Lower Ordovician for
these metasediments, as indicated by the presence of
Cruziana furcifera, Cruziana rugosa, Cruziana semiplicata,
Didymaulichnus isp. and Rusophycus isp. (Knaust, 2004).
T
D
A
he Tauride Belt are mainly represented by the Seydişehir
Formation around at the study area, which comprises the CambroOrdovician Series. The type section of Seydişehir formation is in
Seydişehir area (Fig. 2). It is named after Seydişehir city in 1977 by
Monod. The formation overlies Çaltepe formation with gradational
contact (Fig. 3). The Seydişehir Formation is generally made up of dark
gren to grey anchimetamorphic slates and siltstones (siliciclastic
tempestites). The main body of the formation includes a large number
of coarsening upwards sequences, displaying well-developed paralellel
lamination, cone-in-cone structures (Fig. 4) and includes Tremadoc
trilobites (Fig. 5) and trace fossils which are observed in the upper part
of the section. Seydişehir formation is overlain by Sabova formation with
an angular unconformity.
A
B
c
Figure 2A-B General view of the Seydişehir Formation .
(Usta et al. 2011)
(Göncüoğlu et al. 2004)
E
F
INTRODUCTION
T
he study area is located at the western part of the
Eastern Taurus Mountains to the northeast of Kozan-Feke (Fig.
1A, B, C). A number of allochthonous tectono-stratigraphic
units and their slices of different ages and depositional
features are observed in the investigated area. The Geyikdağ
Unit including a more or less complete Paleozoic-Mesozoic
stratigraphic succession includes in its lower part Late
Cambrian-Early Ordovician wave-dominated shallow-marine
siliciclastics, rich in trace fossils. Although, there have been
many published data which are related to especially
stratigraphy of the Paleozoic successions within the Geyikdağ
Unit in the Eastern Taurides around research area which has
been showed by various geologist (Dean and Monod, 1990;
Dean and Özgül, 1994; Dean, 2006; Ghienne et al., 2010;
Monod et al., 2003; Göncüoğlu et al., 2004; Özgül and Kozlu,
2002; Özgül and Metin, 1973), no detailed studies done in the
sequence within the trace fossils starts with late Cambrian
slightly metamorphic siliciclastic rocks, followed by early
Ordovician siltstone, shale and sandstones.
PURPOSE
T
his study focuses exclusively on trace fossils, which
provide chronostratigraphical improvements, especially in
successions barren or poor in macrofossils.
Cruziana furcifera
Palaeophycus striatus
Demírcan et al
G
Rusophycus isp.
Protovirgularia isp.
Figure. 4. Cone-in-cone structures
Figure 1A. Location map of the studied area, B. Distribution of the tectono-stratigraphic units in the Eastern Taurides (after Özgül, 1976): 1-Bolkardağı Unit,
2-Aladağ Unit, 3- Bozkır Unit, 4- Geyikdağı Unit, 5-Antalya Unit, 6- alanya Unit, 7-Misis Unit. C-Simplified geological map of the study area (modief from Metin
et al. 1986), D. Generalized columnar section of the Paleozoic in the studied area, E- Shown the studied area in the Google earth F-General view of the
Seydişehir Formation , G- Close up view of studied area.
T
he Taurides are a Gondwana-derived fragment and represent an Alpine range that
includes numerous tectono-stratigraphic units that piled up during the closure of the Neotethyan
ocean in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Late Cretaceous to Lutetian times (Şengör and Yılmaz
1981; Göncüoğlu 1997; Göncüoğlu et al. 2004). A detailed classification of the tectono-stratigraphic
units within the Taurides is suggested by Özgül (1976), who subdivided the Geyik Dağı, Bozkır, Bolkar,
Aladağ, Alanya, and Antalya units, respectively (Fig. 1A,B,C).
T
Figure 5. Trilobite
he stratigraphy of the Geyik Dağı Unit of the Eastern Taurides has been revised on the
basis of new field observations from this critical tectono-stratigraphic unit. The general mesaured
section start (Fig. 1D) Kozan Formation, Emirgazi Formation, of Precambrian age, is shown to occur
throughout the whole Tauride Belt. The Çal Tepe Formation probably reaches the Upper Cambrian.
The Cambrian-Ordovician boundary is close to the base of the Seydişehir Formation; the latter
includes mixed carbonate-siliciclastic tempestites (Fig. 1E,F,G). Its upper part may be of late Middle
Ordovician age. The stratigraphic gap between the Seydisehir and Şort Tepe Formations is the result
of a thermal event, as recorded in many other places in the peri-Gondwanan terranes of Europe. The
graptolite-bearing black shales of the Puşçu Tepe Shale Formation of early Silurian age, overlying the
glacier-related sediments of the Halit Yaylası Formation is a typical unit in most of the periGondwanan terranes in S Europe and N Africa. The “Orthoceras Limestones” of the overlying Yukarı
Yayla Formation are of latest Llandovery to earliest Wenlock and post–middle Ludlow age. The Lower
Devonian basal quartzites of the Ayı Tepesi Formation are interpreted as overlying an unconformity,
which may coincide with the stepwise detachment of some small microcontinents from Gondwana
accompanying the opening of Paleotethys. The conformably overlying Şafak Tepe Formation yielded
Eifelian–Givetian conodonts and is overlain by the Gümüşali Formation of Frasnian–Famennian age.
The Devonian-Carboniferous boundary is located within the black shales of the Ziyarettepe
Formation. The deposition of these black shales seems to be related to an anoxic event. Although
the available geological data in the Taurides are still too fragmentary to provide a comprehensive
picture, the new findings may facilitate the correlation of the Eastern Tauride stratigraphic units with
corresponding strata in the Central and Western Taurides and improve the understanding of Early to
middle Paleozoic events in NE peri-Gondwana (Göncüoğlu et al. 2004).
REFERENCES
Knaust, D. 2004. Cambro-Ordovician trace fossils from the SW-Norwegian Caledonides. Geological Journal, 39:1-24.
Dean, W. and Monod, O. 1990. The Lower Palaeozoic Stratigraphy and faunas of the Taurus mountains near Beyşehir, Turkey. I. Stratigraphy. Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.), Geol., vol. 19, no. 8, pp. 411-426.
Dean, W.T. and Özgül, N. 1994. Cambrian rocks and faunas, Hüdai area, Taurus Mountains, southwestern Turkey.. Sciences de la Terre
64, 5–20. Bulletin de l'Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique
Dean, W.T. 2006. Cambrian Stratigraphy and Trilobites of the Samur Dag Area, South of Hakkâri, Southeastern Turkey.Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences 15, 225-257.
Ghienne, J.F., Monod, O., Kozlu, H and Dean, WT. 2010. Cambrian–Ordovician depositional sequences in the Middle East: A perspective from Turkey. Earth Sci Rev., 101, 101-146.
Göncüoğlu, M.C. 1997, Distribution of Lower Paleozoic Units in the Alpine Terranes of Turkey: paleogeographic constraints in: Göncüoğlu, M.C. and Derman, A.S.(Eds), Lower Paleozoic Evolution in
northwest Gondwana, Turkish Assoc. Petrol. Geol., Spec. Publ.No:3, 13-24, Ankara.
Göncüoğlu, M.C, Göncüoğlu, Y., Kozur, H.W., Kozlu, H. 2004. Paleozoic stratigraphy of the Geyik Dağı unit in the eastern Taurides (Turkey): new age data and implications for Gondwanan evolution.
Geol Carp 55: 433–447.
Monod, O., Kozlu, H., Ghienne, J.F., Dean, W.T., Günay, Y., Herisse, A.L., Paris, F. and Robardet, M. 2003. Late Ordovician glaciation in southern Turkey. Terra Nova, 15, 249–257.
Özgül, N. 1976. “Toroslar’ın Bazı Temel Jeoloji Özellikleri“, Türkiye Jeoloji Kurumu Bülteni, Sayı 19, No: 1, s. 65-78.
Özgül, N., Metin, S., Göger, E., Bingöl, A., Baydar, O. and Erdoğan, B. 1973. “Tufanbeyli dolayının (Doğu Toroslar, Adana) Kambriyen-Tersiyer kayaları“, Türkiye Jeoloji Kurumu Bülteni, Sayı 16, s. 39-52.
Özgül, N. and Kozlu, H. 2002. Kozan-Feke (Doğu Toroslar) Yöresinin Stratigrafisi ve Yapısal Konumu İle İlgili Bulgular. TPJD Bülteni, Cilt 14, Sayı 1, Sayfa 1-36.
Şengör, A.M.C. and Yılmaz, Y. 1981. Tethyan evolutional Turkey : A plate tectonic approach : Tectonophysics, 75,181 - 241.
Usta, D., Ateş, Ş., Beyazpirinç, M. and Kanar, F. 2011. Doğu Torosların Jeolojisi ve Jeodinamik Evrimi, MTA Proje sunumları.
Figure 3-Measured section of the studied area.
Cruziana goldfussi
Trichophycus isp.
Cruziana rugosa
CONCLUSION
T
he unit contains abundant, diverse, and well-preserved
arthropod ichnofossil assemblage. For example; including Archaeonassa
isp., Bergaueria isp., Cruziana isp., Cruziana furcifera, Cruziana rugosa,
?Cruziana semiplicata, Didymaulichnus isp., Diplichnites isp.,
Diplocraterion isp., ?Gyrolithes polonicus, ?Gyrophyllites isp.,
Monocraterion isp., Palaeophycus striatus, Palaeophycus tubularis ,
Phycodes cf. circinatus, Phycodes palmatus, Phycodes isp., Planolites isp.,
Protovirgularia isp., Rusophycus isp., Skolithos isp., and Trichophycus isp.
They belong to the archetypal Cruziana ichnofacies. The stratigraphic
ranges of these trace fossils it is suggested that especially the rocks of the
Cruziana species bearing localites are Cambro-Ordovician in age.
2
EXTRAORDINARY EXAMPLES OF THE OUTSTANDING WORK PHYCODES
BEDS FROM THE LOWER ORDOVICIAN IN THE ARMUTLUDERE FORMATION
(AMANOS MOUNTAINS, SE ANATOLIA, TURKEY)
Huriye
a
Demírcan
& Özgür
a
Deveci
& Muhammed
a
Çoban
aDepartment of Geological Research, General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration
(MTA), 06520, Ankara, Turkey
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING AND
GEOLOGICAL MAP
ABSTRACT
O
utstandingly well preserved Phycodes have been
found in the Lower Ordovician Armutdere Formation
northeast of Değirmentaş village, along the Eastern Taurus
mountain range near Tufanbeyli (Fig. 1A,B,C,D). The
Armutdere Formation is consists of very low-grade
metasedimentary rocks including slates, phyllites,
metasandstones, and metasiltstones. The trace fossils include
Phycodes cf. circinatus, "Phycodes" palmatus and
Phycodes isp., which are generally regarded as arthrophycid
fodinichnia (Seilacher, 2000). Their morphology provides
many valuable insights on their production, preservation and
variation.
Key words: Phycodes isp., Lower Ordovician, Armutludere
Formation, Amanos mountain, Turkey.
ARMUTLUDERE FORMATION
The
Değirmentaş village (Fig. 2A,B). Shales intercalated with quartzites
exhibit schistose texture at lower levels (explanations of lithologies are
given in Fig. 1E). The formation is apparently conformable with the
Değirmentaş Limestone at its lower contact. lt is overlain
unconformably by Silurian basal conglomerates. Graptolites were found
in the Armutludere Formation by Demirtaşlı (1967) who suggested an
Ordovician age for the specimens but did not give any description or
determinations. Later a group of geologists from the Geological
Mapping Department of M.T.A. working in the same area found
Ordovician graptolites (Özgül et al., 1967; Metin et al., 1967). Trilobites
of Tremadoc and Arenig age were found in the same formation by
Dean, Kırağlı and Metin in 1968. The Armutludere Formation has great
lithological and stratigraphical affinity with the Seydişehir Formation of
the Seydişehir region, part of which is also of Arenig age. Strata of the
Armutludere Formation are also encountered in a tectonic window
located in the Göksu valley north of Hadim, in the Central Taurus (Özgül,
1971).
D
A
(Göncüoğlu et al. 2004)
B
best being located in Armutludere, northeast of
C
INTRODUCTION
Lower Paleozoic formations crop out along the Eastern
Taurus mountain range near Tufanbeyli. The oldest known unit
in the area is the Emirgazi Formation composed primarily of
chlorite-sericite-quartz schists and metaquartzites. These rocks
underlie conformably the Değirmentaş Limestone which is
believed to be of Lower (?)-Middle Cambrian age. The
observable thickness of the Değirmentaş Limestone is 110 m
and it is formed of white to light-gray and black to dark-gray
limestones, with nodular limestone of various colors at the
top. These are similar in character to the Çaltepe Limestone, of
Lower (?)-Middle Cambrian age in the Seydişehir region, and
are assumed to be of similar age. The Armutludere Formation
of Tremadoc and Arenig age overlies the Değirmentaş
limestone. It consists mainly of shales with chlorite-sericitequartz schist towards the lower levels. Silurian basal
conglomerate lies unconformably upon the Armutludere
Formation.
PURPOSE
Phycodes Richter, 1850 is a relatively common and
widely reported from Phanerozoic shallow and, less common
deep-marine and non-marine environments. The ichnogenus
is characterized by horizontal bundled structures of typically
flabellate or broomlike burrows that are developed from a
single or a few initial (proximal) tunnels. Such proximal tunnels
may or may not possess a spreite. Existing ichnospecies of
Phycodes are distinguished largely on the nature, style,
disposition and degree of burrowing from the initial proximal
structure. The ichnotaxon is known to have been produced by
vagile deposits feeders, likely a worm-like organism (Han and
Pickerill, 1994).
The purpose of this study is to describe and to explain
the importance of chronostratigraphical improvements of the
material (Phycodes) which was taken from the Lower
Ordovician in the Armutludere Formation (Amanos
Mountains, SE Anatolia, Turkey).
E
(Göncüoğlu et al. 2004)
Figure 1A. Location map of the studied area, B. Distribution of the tectono-stratigraphic units in the Eastern Taurides (after Özgül, 1976): 1Bolkardağı Unit, 2-Aladağ Unit, 3- Bozkır Unit, 4- Geyikdağı Unit, 5-Antalya Unit, 6- alanya Unit, 7-Misis Unit. C-Simplified geological map of the
study area (modief from Metin et al. 1986), D. Shown the studied area in the Google earth, E- Generalized columnar section of the studied area,
In the area Cambrian strata are believed to be represented by the Emirgazi and Değirmentaş
Formations, and Ordovician strata by the Armutludere Formation. The Cambrian age is based on
lithological comparison with the Çaltepe limestone of the Seydişehir region, but the Ordovician age
is based on fossil evidence.
Fig. 2A-General view of the Armutludere Formation , B- Close up view of studied area.
Some of Phycodes samples taken from the studied
area
Phycodes cf. circinatus
Emirgazi Formation
This formation crops out in the southwest part of the area studied and consists mainly of
schist and metaquartzite, although in places there are nodular imestone levels (lithologic
descriptions are given in a columnar section (Fig. 1E). As the lower boundary is faulted, the original
thickness is unknown, but the observable thickness is over 100 m. The age has not been
determined due to the lack of fossils in this unit, but the rocks underlie the Değirmentaş Limestone
of presumed Lower (?)-Middle Cambrian age and there is a gradational contact between these two
formations laterally and vertically. The Emirgazi Formation is the oldest-known unit in the area, and
to our knowledge there is no other similar unit along the whole Taurus mountain chain.
Değirmentaş Limestone
This has been exposed in places by great thrust faults with northeast-southwest trend, and
consists of limestones of various types and colors (lithological explanations are given in the
columnar section in Fig. 1E). The lower contact is always a fault plane and although the total
thickness is not known, the observable measured thickness is 110 m. Variously-colored, nodular
limestone which makes up the upper 42 m can be easily followed in the field. The Değirmentaş
limestone has lithological and stratigraphical characteristics similar to those of the Çaltepe
limestone which occurs in the vicinity of Seydişehir, in the western part of the Central Taurus
mountains (Dean & Monod, 1970). No fossils have been found in the Değirmentaş Limestone, but
an age similar to that of the Çaltepe Formation of the Seydişehir region is suggested on lithological
grounds.
CONCLUSION
Specimens from the Armutludere Formation contains
abundant and well-preserved ichnotaxon, is known to have been
produced by vagile deposits feeders, likely a worm-like organism,
which is named as a kind of Phycodes clearly has bundled sets
that each branch horizantally in a broomlike or flabellate
structures.
Demírcan et al II
3
Ichnia 2016 - 4 th International Congress on Ichnology
Contribution to the knowledge of the mammalian ichnofauna
(Vertebratichnia, Mammalipedia) from the Upper Pleistocene
(Lujanian Stage/Age) of Argentina (South America)
C.G. Oliva a, * and M.G. Arregui b
a Centro de Registro de Patrimonio Arqueológico y Paleontológico (CRePAP), Dirección Provincial de Museos y Preservación Patrimonial, Secretaría de Cultura de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Calle 50 N°539, CP: 1900, La Plata, Buenos Aires province, Argentina.
cristianoliva78@yahoo.com.ar
bYPF Tecnología S.A., CONICET, Baradero S/N, CP: 1925, Ensenada, Buenos Aires province, Argentina. arregui.mariano@gmail.com
INTRODUCTION
The ichnodiversity of tetrapods from the Upper Pleistocene (Lujanian SALMA/Stage/Age) of Buenos Aires province
(Argentina) is one of the greatest documented for the Late Cenozoic, with about 25 ichnotaxa recognized (Table 1). While
four pleistocenic tracksites are studied for this region: Santa Clara Beach (Tassara et al., 2007), Playa del Barco (Aramayo
and Manera de Bianco, 2000; Manera et al., 2010), Pehuen Co (Aramayo and Manera de Bianco, 1987, 1996; Aramayo et
al., 2015) and Laguna del Monte (Oliva et al., 2013) (Figure 1A), most of the paleoichnological records come from the
latter two ones, which concentrate almost all of the findings.
GEOGRAPHICAL - GEOLOGICAL SETTING
Laguna del Monte (Guamini village, Buenos Aires province, Argentina) forms part of an important complex of lakes
denominated “Lagunas Encadenadas del Oeste”, conformed by a series of lagoons, of tectonic origin, tied and aligned
along structural axes(Figure 1B). The outcropping section of the tracksite, located on the southeastern costline of the cited
waterbody, comprises a small strip-land of about 0.205 Km2, with an approximate length of 2.250 kilometers and a
maximum exposed width of 100 meters (Figures 1C-D).
Figure 1: A- Paleoichnological Sites of Buenos Aires province.
B- Lagunas Encade
Table 1 : ichnodiversity of tetrapods in pleistocene tracksites of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. LDM: Laguna del Monte (Oliva et al.,
2013); PDB: Playa del Barco (Aramayo and Manera de Bianco, 2000; Manera et al., 2010); PMT: Pehuen Co – Monte Hermoso
Tracksite (Aramayo and Manera de Bianco, 1987; Aramayo et al., 2015); SCF: Santa Clara Beach (Tassara et al., 2007). New described
ichnotaxa highlighted in gray.
Morphofamily Felipedidae Remeika, 1999
Felipedidae nov. igen. et isp.
Ichnogenus Ursichnus Diedrich, 2011
Ichnogenus Eumacrauchenichnus Aramayo and Manera de Bianco, 1987
Ursichnus nov. isp.
Eumacrauchenichnus nov. isp.
(Figures 4-5)
(Figures 6-7)
(Figures 2-3)
Hemi-digitigrade tetradactyl footprints, displaying a distinctive feloid-track's
pattern; four subequal unclawed digits (II-V), arranged in asymmetric arc, in front of
a broad, bilaterally symmetrical, interdigital-cushion (conformed by the fusion of
three aligned longitudinal lobes, of similar development). Possible trackmaker:
Smilodon populator Lund, 1842 (Felidae, Machaerdontinae).
Plantigrade pentadactyl footprints, showing a noticeable heteropody; five unequal
clawed digits, disposed in opened arc, in front of an unsymmetric
metacarpal/metatarsal pad; carpal-cushion absent and reduced tarsal-cushion. Possible
trackmaker: Arctotherium bonariensis Gervais, 1852 (Ursidae, Tremarctinae).
Hemi-unguligrade tridactyl footprints, showing hypertrophied central digits
(III), reduced lateral toes (II-IV) and penta-sided metacarpal/metatarsal
cushions. Possible trackmaker: Todoxon platensis Owen, 1839 (Notoungulata,
Toxodontidae)
Figure 6. Eumacrauchenichnus nov. isp. right hinfoot imprint; scale bar: 50 mm
Figure 2. Felipedidae nov. ichnog. et isp. left isolated footprint; scale bar: 30 mm
This new ichnotype distinguishes from Mitsupes duguesi Rodríguez-de
la Rosa and Guzmán-Gutiérrez, 2012, with which shares the tenancy
of a transversely expanded interdigital-pad, by being this structure
strongly assymetrical in the latter ichnogenus (due to an unequal
development of the component lobes). Moreover, differs from the
ichnospecies of Felipeda Panin and Avram, 1962 whose interdigitalpads are almost isodiametrical (with medial-lobe relatively greater and
more anteriorly projected than the external-bulges) (Figure 3).
Figure 4. Ursichnus nov. isp. left hindfoot impression; scale bar: 50 mm
Differs from the type ichnospecies Eumacrauchenichnus patachonicus by exhibiting a
larger size and an evident heteropody, with pentagonal manus (lakking of carpal-pad)
and ovoidal pes (having small eye-shaped tarsal-pad) (Figure 7).
Figure 5. A- Ursichnus nov. isp.; B- Ursichnus sudamericanus (modified from Aramayo et al., 2015); CUrsichnus eurapaeus (modified from Diedrich, 2011).
This new ichnospecies differentiates from Ursichnus europaeus Diedrich, 2011 and
Ursichnus sudamericanus Aramayo et al., 2015 by having a clear alignment of the digitalpad impressions and possessing smaller claw-marks; besides its larger size and robustness
(Figure 5).
DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
Figure 3. A-Felipeda parvula and B-Felipeda lynxi (modified from Antón et al.,
2004); C-Felipeda bottjeri and D-Felipeda scrivneri (modified from Sarjeant and
Reynolds, 2002); E-Felipeda biancoi; F Felipeda milleri; G-Mitsupes duguesi
(modified from Rodríguez-de la Rosa and Guzmán-Gutiérrez, 2012); HFelipedidae nov. ichnog. et isp.
Felipedidae nov. igen. et sp. (tentatively related to Smilodon populator Lund) represents the first ichnotaxon associated with the Smilodontini Tribe Ketzoi, 1929, besides the first
ichnologic record of the Machairodontinae Subfamily Gill, 1872; both for the Pleistocene as for the Southern Hemisphere. Ursichnus nov. isp. (attributed to Arctotherium
bonariensis Gervais, 1852) constitutes a new south american ichnospecies of Ursichnus Diedrich, 2011, that adds to the recently erected Ursichnus sudamericanus Aramayo et al.,
2015 (referred to Arctotherium tarijensis Ameghino, 1902); being both forms sympatric and synchronous. Although Eumacrauchenichnus nov. isp. (assigned to the notoungulate
Toxodon platensis Owen) and Eumacrauchenichnus patachonicus Aramayo and Manera de Bianco, 1987 (attributed to the litoptern Macrauchenia patachonica Owen) would been
generated by taxonomically unrelated trackmakers, both ichnospecies share a closely similar structural-pattern in their ichnites, reason why they are assigned to a same ichnogenus.
The new reported discoveries increase significantly (about of 25%) the tetrapod ichnodiversity known for Laguna del Monte Tracksite (Oliva et al., 2013); raising, on the other hand,
the number of ichnotaxa documented for the latest Quaternary of the bonaerian territory of Argentina (Aramayo and Manera de Bianco 1987; Aramayo et al., 2015).
REFERENCES
Antón, M., López, G. and Santamaría, R. 2004. Carnivore trackways from the Miocene site of Salinas de
Añana (Alava, Spain). Ichnos, 11: 371-384.
Aramayo, S. and Manera de Bianco, T. 1987. Hallazgo de una icnofauna continental (Pleistoceno tardío) en
la localidad de Pehuen Co (Partido de Coronel Rosales) Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Parte I:
Edentata, Litopterna, Proboscidea and Parte II: Carnivora, Artiodactyla y Aves. IV Congreso
Latinoamericano de Paleontología, 1: 516 – 547. Sta. Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.
Aramayo, S. and Manera de Bianco, T. 1993. Nuevos hallazgos en el yacimiento paleoicnológico de Pehuén
– Có (Pleistoceno tardío), provincia de Buenos Aires. Primera Reunión Argentina de Icnología. Libro de
resúmenes: 7. Santa Rosa, Argentina.
Aramayo, S. and Manera de Bianco, T. 1996. Edad y nuevos hallazgos de icnitas de mamíferos y aves en el
yacimiento paleoicnológico de Pehuen Co (Pleistoceno tardío), Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Asociación Paleontológica Argentina, Publicación Especial, 4: 47 – 57.
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en el yacimiento paleoicnológico de Pehuen Co (Pleistoceno tardío), Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Tercera Reunión Argentina de Icnología y Primer Reunión de Icnología del Mercosur. Libro de resúmenes:
7. Mar del Plata, Argentina.
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Aramayo, S. and Manera de Bianco, T. 2000. Primer hallazgo de icnitas de mamíferos pleistocenos en “Playa del
Barco”, Pehuen Co, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Ameghiniana Suplemento Resúmenes, 37 (4): 19R.
Aramayo, S., Manera de Bianco, T., Bastianelli, N. and Melchor, R., 2015. Pehuen Co: updated taxonomic review of a
late Pleistocene ichnological site in Argentina. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 439.
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confirmación del andar bipedal de los Megateroides. Cuadernos del Instituto Superior “Juan XIII”, 4: 1-15.
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(Western Carpathians, Romania). Ichnos, 18 (1): 9-26.
Manera de Bianco, T. and Aramayo, S. 2003. Primer registro de huellas de Equidae en el yacimiento
paleoicnológico de Pehuen Co (Pleistoceno tardío) provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Ameghiniana 40(4)
Suplemento Resúmenes: 61R.
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Barco, Pehuen Co, provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. X Congreso Argentino de Paleontología y Bioestratigrafía VII Congreso Latinoamericano de Paleontología. Resúmenes: 78. La Plata, Argentina.
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paleoicnológico del Pleistoceno tardío (Piso/Edad Lujanense), Guaminí, provincia de Buenos Aires
(Argentina). Segundo Congreso Latinoamericano de Icnología (SLIC II). Libro de resúmenes: 52.
Panin, N. and Avram E. 1962. Noe urme de vertebrate in Miocenul Subcarpatilor rominesti. Studii si Cercetari
de Geologie, 7: 455-484.
Rodríguez-de la Rosa, A. and Guzmán-Gutiérrez, J. 2012. Huellas de aves y mamíferos del Neógeno de
Jalisco, México. Paleontología Mexicana, 62: 147-158.
Sarjeant, W., Reynolds, R. and Kissell-Jones, M. 2002. Fossil creodont and carnivore footprints from
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Argentina. XVI Congreso Geológico Argentino, La Plata. Actas, 4: 219 – 226.
4
Beaver manuports in glacial landscapes
Elena Ponomarenkoa, Dmitri Ponomarenko
b
aDepartment of Geography, University of Ottawa (ecosystemarchaeology@gmail.com), bBorrissiak Paleontology Institute (Russian Academy of Sciences (zemleroi@gmail.com)
ABSTRACT
Biogenic sorting by mammals during the excavation of tunnels and channels has received little if any attention in the past. In this study, we report sorting that results from the excavation of canals by modern beavers. Beavers (Castor sp.) are extant rodents that leave a major
geomorphologic imprint in modern landscapes. Beaver dams are also known from deposits dating back to the Pliocene and from genera other than Castor (Rybczynski 2008). One of the elements of the beaver-made landscape are canals that radiate from the pond to the feeding areas
or connect two ponds. Animals excavating such canals in stony sediments encounter rock fragments which, in moraine landscapes, can range in size from gravel to boulder. In this study, we
examined the size distribution of rock fragments along beaver canals to find the upper size limit
of rocks that beavers can transport. Median diameter varied from 9 to 13 cm depending on the
site, and a distinct upper limit of 18 cm was found. A wider variation in the weight of the rocks,
compared with the diameter, suggests that fragments are transported by front paws, rather than
pushed out of the canal. Biogenically sorted material in the geological record may be used in the
future to distinguish taxa according to their ability to transport rock fragments.
RESULTS
Observations on beaver canals were made in 2014 in the Gatineau Park (Quebec, Canada) following torrential rains that caused beaver dams to break. Numerous beaver ponds stood
drained and their exposed bottoms were found to be scattered with rock fragments (Fig. 1).
Fig. 2 (top). Sublinear alignment of cobbles between the active canals.
Fig. 3 (bottom). Clusters of cobbles between abandoned beaver canals.
Fig. 1. The scatter of cobbles on the bottom of a drained beaver pond (Gatineau, Quebec, Canada).
Networks constructed by beavers underwater included circular canals, radial canals, and bank
burrows. Some cobbles were found aligned more or less linearly along the active canals (Fig.
2), whereas others were clustered between the beaver canals that were abandoned and infilled
(Fig.3). The distance between the canals varied from 3 to 10 meters.
Intermittent rows of cobbles were found along both sides of all canals. Cobbles lay on
the surface and slightly sunk into clayey, organic-rich pond deposits (Fig. 4). The surficial deposits in the area are glacial in origin, with gravel to boulder-size rock fragments incorporated into
till. Cobbles were found atop organic sediments accumulated at the bottom of the beaver pond,
which suggests that they must have been displaced out of their original context in the glacial
till.
The re-deposited rock fragments have an upper size limit. We measured the length of
the long axis and the weight of 400 cobble-sized rock fragments lying above beaver pond deposits at 4 sites. The results are presented in Fig. 5. The median length varied from 9 to 12 cm,
depending on the site. The weight of the displaced cobbles varied more than tenfold, from 0.2
to 3.5 kg. The large weight range for the largest cobbles (17–18 cm: 1.5–4.0 kg) suggests that
the size, not the weight was the limiting factor in the transport of rocks. Beaver canals are de-
Ponomorenko and Ponomorenko.docx
scribed to be dug by “dredging” (Warren 1927,
Abbott et al, 2013). The ground mass is evacuated from the dugout by the front limbs and
dumped on the banks of the canal. The beavers
are described to bank the canals purposefully
to increase the water level in the canal (Berry
1923). In our study sites, new canals varied in
width from 28 to 50 cm, and in depth from 28
to 38 cm, consistent with the published measurements of canals in other areas (Butler and
Malanson 1995, Butler 2007, Abbott et al 2013).
Sections across the freshly-dumped
embankments along the canals showed that
the cobbles were mainly placed atop the embankments, over the portions of the substrate
almost devoid of large rock fragments.
Old, abandoned canals were visible
as concave linear forms several centimeters below the pond surface. Sections across beaver
canals showed that rock fragments larger than
20 cm were left in situ forming “shape imperfections” at the bottom and the sides of the
channels (Fig. 5). Large boulders protruding
from the pond surface always had their base
located below the pond deposits. Abandoned
canals are infilled by slumped-down material,
with cobbles incorporated into the slumped
mass.
DISCUSSION
Rock fragments transported by the beaver
have both a lower and an upper size limit, which stands
in contrast with the unsorted mixtures produced by fossorial mammals. The maximum size of rock fragments
in burrow mounds is commonly defined by the diameter of the burrow, and is weight-sensitive. The evidence
of sorting in rocks redeposited by the beaver suggests
manual transport of the fragments. The maximum diameter may be limited by the distance between the
front limbs. In this respect, beaver manuports resemble
the manuports commonly described in archaeological
sites (stone hedges, stone hearths - Fig. ). Further studies
of beaver manuports in various areas will aim to further
define the particle-size signature of this trace maker.
REFERENCES
Abbott, M. J., Fultz, B., Wilson, J., Nicholson, J., Black, M.,
Thomas, A., Kot, A., Burrows, M., Schafer, B. & Benson, D.P.
(2013). Beaver-dredged canals and their spatial relationship to beaver-cut stumps. Proceedings of the Indiana
Academy of Science, 121 (2): 91–96.
Berry, S.S. (1923). Observations on a Montana beaver
Fig. 4 (top). A cobble lying on top of pond deposits
canal. Journal of Mammalogy 4 (2), 92–103.
Fig. 5. Size distribution of cobbles lying above beaver pond deposits (pooled
Butler D.R. (2007). Zoogeomorphology: Animals as Geo- data from four sites)
morphic Agents. Cambridge University Press, 231pp.
Butler D.R., G.P.Malanson (1995). Sedimentation rates
and patterns in beaver ponds in a mountain environment. Geomorphology, 13 (1-4): 255-269.
Rybczynski, N. (2008). Woodcutting behavior in beavers (Castoridae, Rodentia): estimating ecological per-
formance in a modern and a fossil taxon. Paleobiology, 34 (3): 389-402.
Warren, E.R. (1927). The Beaver – its work and its ways. Williams and Wilkins Co., Baltimore, MD.
177 pp.
c
b
a
Fig.6 left (a - top, b - bottom). Embankments along functioning canals protrude 7 to 18 cm above the pond bottom.
Fig. 7 (top right). Section along the side of a freshly dug-out canal. The beaver-laid sand deposit overlies a laminated pyrogenic colluvial fan
deposit. The cobbles (c) were mainly placed atop the embankments, over the portions of the substrate almost devoid of large rock fragments.
Fig. 9 (bottom right). Human manuports: a modern hearth.
a
c
b
b
Fig.8. Section across an abandoned canal (a). Large boulders (b) were left in situ when the canal was dug. The in-fill of the abandoned canal consists of
slumped-in material with the beaver manuports (c) incorporated into it.
5
Teichichnus duplex Schlirf & Bromley, 2007 and its relationships to the ichnogenus Cruziana d'Orbigny, 1842
a,
a
b
Michał Stachacz *, Alfred Uchman , Francisco J. Rodríguez-Tovar , Matías Reolid
a
c
Jagiellonian University, Institute of Geological Sciences, Oleandry 2a, PL-30-063 Kraków, Poland; michal.stachacz@uj.edu.pl
b
Department of Stratigraphy and Palaeontology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, 18002 Granada, Spain
c
Department of Geology University of Jaén, Campus Las Lagunillas sn, 23071 Jaén, Spain
Teichichnus duplex Schlirf & Bromley, 2007
Cruziana ispp.
Diagnosis. Long, straight, sinuous to zigzagshaped unbranched or branched, wall-like spreite structures, formed by vertical
displacement of horizontal or oblique, erect to undulose tubes lacking wall-lining, resulting in single gutter-shaped or double
gutter-shaped spreite lamellae as seen in transverse cross section. Bioglyphs may be present (Schlirf and Bromley, 2007)
scratch
traces
Hypichnial preservation
smo
1 cm
with
t
sla
out
ost
alm
slat
without scratches
2 cm
Scratch traces:
generally present in Cruziana
and usually absent in T. duplex,
however still present in some
specimens of the latter
(more frequently than expected).
oth
Shallow C. furcifera, Ordovician, Spain
(after Stachacz et al., 2015)
1 cm
nd
sa slat
T. duplex, Cambrian, Poland
1 cm
T. duplex, Ordovician, Spain
indistinct scratches
Deep C. furcifera, Ordovician, Spain
(after Stachacz et al., 2015)
mud
0.5 cm
Mode of formation of shallow Cruziana
(based on Seilacher, 2007, pl. 15)
Cruziana with indistinct scratches
1 cm
T. duplex, Cambrian, Sweden
(topotype material, Naturhistoriska
riksmuseet, Stockholm)
Cruziana without scratches
T. duplex, Cambrian, Poland
Intrastratal preservation, view from above
distinct scratches
Deep C. tenella, Ordovician, Spain
(after Rodríguez-Tovar et al., 2014)
2 cm
1 cm
T. duplex, Cambrian, Sweden
(topotype material, Naturhistoriska riksmuseet, Stockholm)
1 cm
C. tenella, Cambrian, Sweden
Cross sections
without spreite
Spreites:
generally present in T. duplex
and absent in Cruziana
ripple cross-lamination
horizontal
lamination
massive
sandstone
massive
sandstone
1 cm
less or more distinct spreite
1 cm
e-la
min
cut
Longitudinal
sections
very indistinct spreite
or massive filling
atio
n
?spre
ite-lam
?spreiteinatio
laminatio
n
n
1 cm
?T. duplex =
?deep C. tenella
T. duplex, Ordovician, Spain
Ordovician, Spain
hypichnion, C. tenella
Ordovician, Spain
ripple cross-lamination
reit
2 cm
1 cm
Deep C. furcifera, Ordovician, Spain
?sp
Teichichnus
ichnofabric
endichnia, T. duplex
1 cm
horizontal
lamination
The main distinction between Cruziana
and T. duplex is the presence or absence
of spreites visible in longitudinal section.
However, some specimens of the deep
Cruziana display
more or less distinct spreites instead
of massive fill
Deep Cruziana furcifera, Ordovician, Spain
(after Stachacz et al., 2015)
horizontal
lamination
biogenic spreites
1 cm
1 cm
1 cm
T. duplex, Ordovician, Spain T. duplex, Cambrian, Poland
T. duplex, Cambrian, Poland
CONCLUSIONS
Modes of formation
direction of propagation
laminated
sand
bioturbated
· Hypichnial Cruziana ispp. and Teichichnus duplex may display
more or less distinct scratch traces.
· Cruziana and T. duplex may form endichnial, „wall-like” structures.
?
mud
· T. duplex displays distinct spreites which are mostly poorly visible
or absent in Cruziana ispp.
deep Cruziana (based on Seilacher, 1955, 1970)
?
collapsed
· Distinction of some deep Cruziana and T. duplex is difficult
because of transitional forms between these ichnotaxa.
laminated
sand
bioturbated
direction of propagation
· Cruziana ispp. and T. duplex can be formed by
the same tracemakers, probably head-down burrowing trilobites.
direction of moving
Idealized model of deep Cruziana
mud
Idealized model ofTeichichnus duplex
Deep Cruziana (after Stachacz et al., 2015) applicable
also for Teichichnus duplex.
REFERENCES
Rodríguez-Tovar, F.J., Stachacz, M., Uchman, A. & Reolid, M. 2014. Lower/Middle Ordovician (Arenigian) shallow-marine trace fossils of the Pochico Formation, southern Spain: palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographic implications at the Gondwanan and peri-Gondwanan realm. Journal of Iberian Geology, 40: 539–555.
Schlirf, M. & Bromley, R.G. 2007. Teichichnus duplex n. isp., new trace fossil from the Cambrian and Triassic. Beringeria, 37: 133–141.
Seilacher, A. 1955. Spuren und Lebensweise der Trilobiten, Spuren und Fazies im Unterkambrium. In: Schindewolf, O. H. and Seilacher, A. (eds.), Beiträge zur Kenntnis des Kambriums in der Salt Range (Pakistan). Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Abhandlungen der mathematich-naturwissenschaftlichen Klasse, 10: 86–141.
Seilacher, A. 1970. Cruziana stratigraphy of „non-fossiliferous” Palaeozoic sandstones. In: Crimes T. P. and Harper, J.C. (eds.), Trace fossils. Geological Journal Special Issues, 3: 447–476. Liverpool.
Stachacz, M., Rodríguez-Tovar, F.J., Uchman, A. & Reolid, M. 2015. Deep endichnial Cruziana from the Lower-Middle Ordovician of Spain: a unique trace fossil record of trilobitomorph deep burrowing behavior. Ichnos, 22: 12–18.
Stachacz et al
6
Ant nests from the Palaeogene and Quaternary of Uruguay
Mariano Verde, Martín Ubilla & Guillermo Roland
Departamento de Paleontología, Instituto de Ciencias Geológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Iguá 4225, CP
11400, Montevideo, Uruguay (verde@fcien.edu.uy)
WE report two Cenozoic cases of trace fossils from paleosols, attributable to ants in Uruguay, South America. The first one corresponds to the nests located below the limit between the Mercedes
Formation (late K) and the Asencio Formation (Palaeogene, probably early Eocene) in southern Uruguay. These trace fossils were produced during the Asencio times, but penetrate into the
Mercedes Fm. together with other trace fossils and physical structures. The Asencio paleosols corresponds to the Oxisol type.
The second case occurs in paleosols of the Sopas Formation (Late Pleistocene), in northern Uruguay, where only scarce remains of chamber infills were found. An AMS 14C age of 12,502 ± 55
years BP (cal. BP 14,234 – 15,001) (AA104912, shell of Cyanocyclas sp.) is available taken from an underlying level. Associated mammalian fauna includes extinct medium to large groundsloths, glyptodonts and deers, some of them related to open environments. The Sopas Fm. paleosols may correspond to Vertisols.
The Asencio Fm. ant nests
Ant nests from the Sopas Fm.
Asencio Fm.
1m
Ant nests
level
Mercedes Fm.
Carbonate rich level
ROSSOTTI Quarry (Colonia County). At the top: Asencio Fm. (Palaeogene, probably early Eocene).
The trench exposes the Mercedes Fm. (Late Cretaceous). The trace fossils belong to the Asencio times,
but cross-cut to the underlying mesozoic unit.
a
b
ANT nest preserved in full relief from the Asencio Fm. (Palaeogene, probably early Eocene), Colonia
County. (a) Field photograph showing the ferruginized chambers. (b) Sketch of the same nest to
hightlight the piled up flat chambers). Scale divisions for both a and b in cm.
The nests consist of piled up, planar, horizontally oriented chambers (5 mm in height, 15 mm in width),
connected by a vertical shaft. Krausichnus isp. is perhaps the most accurate identification, although
there are some differences with the known ichnospecies. The chambers of the Uruguayan material are
not so numerous and tend to be more planar and irregular.
OUTCROP of the the Sopas Fm. (Late Pleistocene, Río Negro County). The dotted lines mark a
carbonate rich level that preserves the ant nests chambers, rhizoliths and other biogenic structures.
Scale bar: 1 m.
a
b
KIDNEY-SHAPED ant nest chamber preserved as a carbonate cast, from the Sopas Fm.
(Late Pleistocene), Río Negro County. (a) Plan view (above), side view (center) and lower
side view (below). Remains of the main tunnel cross-cutting the chamber are preserved as
small cylindrical protrusions on its upper and lower surface. Scale bar: 1 cm. (b) Three
dimensional model of complete Daimoniobarax nephroides specimen showing the
arrangement of chambers along the main sinuous tunnel (based on Smith et al., 2011).
Scale bar: 5 cm.
Despite the scarcity of the material the kidney-shaped morphology of the chambers
suggests that these trace fossils correspond to Daimoniobarax cf. nephroides.
Probable trace maker are the seed-harvester ants that are common in South America.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: CSIC, ANII, and PEDECIBA GEOCIENCIAS funded this work.
Fernanda Cabrera and Andrés Rinderknecht helped during the Sopas fieldtrips. The Rossotti family
facilitated fieldwork in their quarry.
Verde et al
7