Trace fossil: a significant agent for exploring organism-environment interactions

Trace fossils record the behavioral characteristics of ancient organisms, and their preservations reflect the intimate interaction between organisms’ ethology, habitable substrates, and their living environments. In particular, soft-bodied organisms usually are difficult to be preserved in the fossil records, but their behaviors can be preserved as trace fossils. Thus, trace fossils are pivotal in reconstructing palaeoenvironmental and palaeoecological interpretations,deciphering the early evolution of life and the infaunal responses to environmental extremes during mass extinctions. This paper focuses on the advancement of the above mentioned ichnological research topics during the past ten years, and puts forward potential directions in future ichnological studies.

Project Supported:

Clc Number: