Trace fossils from the Upper Pleistocene glaciolacustrine laminated sediments of Lithuania

Abstract

Detailed studies of trace fossils have been carried out in five sections of glaciolacustrine varved sediments (Balbieriškis 2 and 3 outcrops, clay pits of Pašaminė, Krūna and Tauragė). Trace fossils gor dia isp., Helminthoidichnites isp. and galaciichnium liebegastensis are relatively common, and Coch lichnus anguineus, Warvichnium ulbrichi and curved ridges are rare. These trace fossils are typical of the Mermia ichnofacies. Their occurrence is related to the warmer climate of the Late Pleistocene North European glacial interphasials or interoscillations. The trace fossils can be used for recognition of lacustrine subfacies and climatic warming.

Lasting through the ice age: The role of the proglacial refugia in the maintenance of genetic diversity, population growth, and high dispersal rate in a widespread freshwater crustacean

“…Brengdahl () also observed that the dispersal capacity of the water louse is greater in ever‐changing environments. In fact, numerous trace fossils described as the ichnotaxon Glaciichnium liebegastensis Walter 1985 from the proglacial lacustrine sediments found in England, Germany, Austria, Poland, Lithuania, Sweden, and Finland, were unambiguously identified as footprints of Asellus (Gaigalas & Uchman, ; Gibbard, ; Gibbard & Dreimanis, ; Gibbard & Stuart, ; Uchman, Gaigalas, & Kazakauskas, ; Uchman, Kazakauskas, & Gaigalas, ; and references therein). According to these authors, the water louse is, in fact, a typical inhabitant of glacial lakes, exploiting free niches with rich food resources and decreased predatory pressure.…”

Trace fossils and palynomorphs in Holocene calcareous concretions from Lake Selbusjøen, Mid-Norway: Post-glacial environmental records

“…The environment of lakes with such deposits is often hostile and at the extreme for life, and they commonly are considered ‘arctic desert’ (Uchman et al, 2009). Trace fossils from the Upper Pleistocene glacio-lacustrine laminated sediments of Lithuania have been studied in detail by Gaigalas and Uchman (2004) and Uchman et al (2008, 2019). The assemblages recovered in Lithuania are also typical of the Mermia ichnofacies and are comparable to those recoverd in the marleiks from Lake Selbusjøen, although somewhat more diveres with Gordia, Helminthoidichnites, Galaciichnium , and rare Cochlichnus and Warvichnium .…”

Trace fossils in Quaternary glacial varved clays near Uppsala, Sweden

“…However, the trace fossils are restricted to only some laminae, suggesting that the ecosystem was unstable and probably strongly controlled by local events. It is suggested that colonisation of proglacial lake bottoms by tracemaking macrofauna in Lithuania was possible only during warmer periods (Uchman et al 2008). However, ichnological record of many laminae can be overlooked due to the strongly patchy distribution trace fossils in such environments (Uchman et al 2009).…”