Large vertebrate burrow from the Upper Mississippian Mauch Chunk Formation, eastern Pennsylvania, USA

Storm, Lauren P.; Needle, Mattathias D.; Smith, C.J.; Fillmore, David L.; Szajna, Michael J.; Simpson, Edward L.; Lucas, Spencer G.

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.10.018

Cited by 21 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Evidence of early vertebrate burrowing remains scattered and does not seem to be older than Late Devonian (reviewed in Storm et al . ). Morphological transition of such burrows with arthropod burrows, in addition to a reduced size, may prove challenging for their distinction from invertebrate burrows.…”

Section: Interpretation and Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…This find would considerably predate the oldest record of tetrapod footprints from the Middle Devonian (Givetian) (Lucas 2015), but it does not fulfil the recognition criteria of tetrapod tracks and trackways and probably results from the activity of an arthropod (Minter et al 2016). Evidence of early vertebrate burrowing remains scattered and does not seem to be older than Late Devonian (reviewed in Storm et al 2010). Morphological transition of such burrows with arthropod burrows, in addition to a reduced size, may prove challenging for their distinction from invertebrate burrows.…”

Section: Interpretation and Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The fish swimming trace Undichna unisulca from the Silurian of Sweden: probably the oldest vertebrate locomotion trace fossil

Knaust

Minter

2018

LET

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The fish swimming trace Undichna unisulca is reported from a sandstone block collected from the Upper Silurian (Ludlow) Burgsvik Formation of Gotland, Sweden. It represents the oldest record of a vertebrate trace (apart from coprolites), predating previous finds from the Lower Devonian by at least 10 Ma. A thelodont or acanthodian fish may have produced the sinusoidal trails with the aid of their caudal or anal fins while browsing slowly over the sediment whilst searching for food.

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Section: Interpretation and Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Interpretation and Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fish swimming trace Undichna unisulca from the Silurian of Sweden: probably the oldest vertebrate locomotion trace fossil

Knaust

Minter

2018

LET

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“…2004; Storm et al . 2010; Liu & Li 2013; Smith et al . 2021) and, since then, they exhibit a wide variety of architectures and sizes (Voorhies 1975; Cardonatto & Melchor 2018 and references therein).…”

Section: Potential Producer Age Stratigraphy Locality Referencementioning

confidence: 99%

Burrows provided shelter for tetrapods in a Permo‐Triassic desert

Francischini

Dentzien‐Dias

Battista

et al. 2023

Papers in Palaeontology

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We describe for the first time the presence of straight, curved and quasi‐helical burrows preserved in plan, oblique and transversal views in the aeolian strata of the Permo‐Triassic Buena Vista Formation (Paraná Basin), Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. The morphology of the burrows is similar to that of others found in Guadalupian to Early Triassic‐aged deposits in several parts of the world. Of these, middle Permian dicynodont‐bearing helical burrows (Daimonelix) and Early–Middle Triassic kidney‐shaped burrows (Reniformichnus), both from the Karoo Basin of South Africa, show a remarkable similarity to the Brazilian burrows, prompting a discussion of the probable producers. Dicynodonts, cynodonts, therocephalian and/or procolophonians are among the probable producers of such burrows, based on size compatibility between the burrows and estimates of body size for the fossil taxa, along with the presence of skeletal adaptations in Permo‐Triassic tetrapods for digging (bone micro‐ and macrostructure). Last, we discuss some behavioural aspects of the producer of the burrows, mainly due to the presence of passive filling and bilobate bottoms in the tunnels, which indicates that they remained open as long as they were occupied. The burrows were excavated in a dry aeolian system that occurred in the Guadalupian–Induan interval of Brazil, representing the oldest unambiguous record of tetrapod dwelling structures in such an environment, and providing new and unprecedented information regarding the colonization of deserts by tetrapods during the end‐Permian biotic crisis.

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“…Popa & Kedzior, 2006;Talanda et al, 2011), in North America (e.g. Varrichio et al 2007;Storm et al, 2010;Riese et al, 2011), in Antarctica (e.g. Miller et al, 2001;Sidor et al, 2009) and in Australia (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Description and interpretation of Cenozoic vertebrate ichnofossils in Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil

Frank¹,

Lima²,

Gerhard³

et al. 2013

Rev. bras. paleontol.

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In the neighborhood of the city of Boqueirão do Leão (State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) a set of three big-sized tunnels has been found. One of the tunnels is only partially fi lled with sand and accessible along its entire length. It is horizontal, slightly sinuous, 36 m long, up to 4.2 m wide and up to 2.0 m high. The surface morphology of the walls is composed of anthropogenic marks, speleothems, black incrustations and traces like digging scratches and smoothed surfaces. The 2 nd tunnel has its entrance blocked by sand and sandstone cobbles, but the end of the tunnel is only partially clogged and therefore accessible. This accessible portion is 12 m long, 3 m wide and 1.5 m high. The 3 rd tunnel is completely fi lled and collapsed and is nowadays only indicated by concave roof features at its end. The general features of the tunnel system and the analysis of the surface morphology of the walls of the accessible portions permit to conclude that the tunnels were produced by ground sloths of the Cenozoic South American megafauna. The size of the tunnels suggests that its excavation was gradually carried out by successive generations of sloth herds, and not by a single individual animal. The primary function of the tunnels probably was not protection from predators, which had easy access to structures of this size, but to shelter during a drier climate. However, it is not yet possible to relate the tunnels to a specifi c ground sloth genus, a task that depends on the discovery of better-preserved tunnel systems.RESUMO -Nas imediações da cidade de Boqueirão do Leão (Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil) foi encontrado um conjunto de três túneis de grande porte. Um dos túneis está apenas parcialmente preenchido com areia e acessível em toda a sua extensão, sendo horizontal, levemente sinuoso com 36 m de comprimento, largura de até 4.2 m e altura de até 2 m. A morfologia das paredes do túnel é composta por marcas antropogênicas, espeleotemas, incrustações pretas e marcas de paleovertebrados como marcas de escavação e superfícies alisadas. O segundo túnel tem sua entrada bloqueada por areia e seixos de arenito, mas a porção fi nal do túnel está apenas parcialmente preenchida e, portanto, acessível. Esta porção acessível possui 12 m de comprimento, 3 m de largura e 1,5 m de altura. O terceiro túnel está completamente preenchido e desabado e pode ser reconhecido atualmente apenas pelas feições côncavas do teto em seu fi nal. As características gerais do sistema de túneis e a análise da morfologia das paredes das porções acessíveis permite concluir que os túneis foram produzidos por preguiças terrestres da Megafauna Cenozoica sul-americana. O tamanho dos túneis sugere que sua escavação foi gradual, realizada por gerações sucessivas de grupos de preguiças, e não por um animal individual. A função primária dos túneis provavelmente não foi proteção de predadores, que tinham fácil acesso a estruturas desse tamanho, mas abrigo durante um clima mais seco. Entretanto, ainda não é possível relacionar os túneis a um gênero espe...

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Large vertebrate burrow from the Upper Mississippian Mauch Chunk Formation, eastern Pennsylvania, USA

Cited by 21 publications

References 33 publications

The fish swimming trace Undichna unisulca from the Silurian of Sweden: probably the oldest vertebrate locomotion trace fossil

The fish swimming trace Undichna unisulca from the Silurian of Sweden: probably the oldest vertebrate locomotion trace fossil

Burrows provided shelter for tetrapods in a Permo‐Triassic desert

Description and interpretation of Cenozoic vertebrate ichnofossils in Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil

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