Kardopomorphos polydioryx Beuck, López Correa et Freiwald, 2008

Diagnosis: Shallow, often spiral-shaped depression, from which ‘whip’-shaped, occasionally branched canals can be extended deeply into the substrate. Facultative, one or few central canals of larger diameter can occur. The surface texture of the entire trace is xenoglyph.

Description: In early ontogenetic stages the foraminifer produces a shallow, circular depression of 0.5-1.5 mm in diameter, from which ‘whip’-shaped filaments with an approximately circular cross-section start to protrude mainly perpendicularly into the substrate. Very rarely the opposite is documented that the depression is established after the filaments. Occasionally the filaments are branched and show fused bases (see Fig. 9F-H). The length of the tapering filaments increases constantly with infestation time of the foraminifer. Thus, the growth of the foraminifer parallels a vertical penetration into the host substrate and the trace starts to vary in morphologybetween host species (see Fig. 8). Adult grooves are often negatives of the individual chambers of the foraminifer test and are constantly growing throughout the lifetime of the foraminifer, etching into the substrate.