Species

Conichnus conicus Männil, 1966

Taxon description

Vinn et al., 2015d

Short conical, limestone filled burrows with unornamented shafts, circular to elliptical in a transverse section. Limestone filling is often rich in fossil debris. No linings occur. The morphology of the Ordovician and Silurian specimens is slightly different. Silurian specimens are somewhat wider relative to their height than the Ordovician specimens. The Ordovician specimens are in average slightly higher than wide.

Desai & Saklani, 2015

Tracemaker. Conichnus has been attributed to the activity of sea anemones (modern ceriantharid anemones) or similar animals (Shinn, 1968; Radwanski et al., 1975; Curran and Frey, 1977; Frey and Howard, 1981; Howard and Frey, 1984; Pemberton et al., 1992; MacEachern and Pemberton, 1992; Pollard et al., 1993; Savrda, 2002). The present structures (up to 1.8 m in length and 0.14 m in width) are large compared to most other Conichnus. Very few examples of large Conichnus have been reported previously. Savrda (2002) described specimens up to 1.4 m long and 13-14 cm wide from Upper Cretaceous Eutaw Formation of Alabama (USA), and Curran and Frey (1977) noted specimens that are »3 m long and 24 cm in diameter from Pleistocene deposits of North Carolina (USA).

Type specimen data

holotype: Department of Geology, TalTech GIT 107-4, Pääsküla, Keila Stage

Synonymy list

1966 Conichnus conicus — Ralf Männil , pp. 201, fig. 1: 4-6; 2: 1, 4

1975 Conichnus conicus — Häntzschel , pp. W52, fig. 31.3.

1975 Conichnus conicus Männil, 1966 — Hantzschel , pp. W52, fig. 31.3

1979 Amphorichnus sp. — Hurst , fig. 14D,E

1981 Conichnus conicus Myannil, 1966 — Frey & Howard , pp. 800, fig. text fig. 1A, 2A-E

1984 Conichnus conicus Myannil, 1966 — Howard & Frey , pp. 203, fig. 7

1992 Conichnus conicus — Pickerill et al. , fig. 2c,d

2002 Conichnus conicus Männil, 1966 — Mangano et al. , pp. 29, fig. 28A-B

2006 Conichnus conicus Männil, 1966 — Ershova et al. , pp. 417

2007 Conichnus conicus — Landing et al. , pp. 288

Selection of related publications

Hanken, N.-M., Uchman, A., Nielsen, J. K., Olaussen, S., Eggebø, T., Steinsland, R. 2016. Late Ordovician trace fossils from offshore to shallow water mixed siliciclastic and carbonate facies in the Ringerike Area, Oslo Region, Norway. Ichnos 23, 3-4, 189-221. DOI:10.1080/10420940.2016.1199427

Vinn, O., Wilson, M. A., Toom, U. 2015. Distribution of Conichnus and Amphorichnus in the Lower Paleozoic of Estonia (Baltica). Carnets de Géologie 15, 19, 269-278. DOI:10.4267/2042/58180

Landing, E., Peng, S., Babcock, L. E., Geyer, G., Moczydlowska-Vidal, M. 2007. Global standard names for the Lowermost Cambrian Series and Stage. Episodes 30, 4, 287-289. DOI:10.18814/epiiugs/2007/v30i4/004

Männil, Ralf 1966. O vertikal'nyh norkah zaryvaniâ v ordovikskih izvestnâkah Pribaltiki. The organism and environment in the geological past, pp. 200-207. Nauka.

Classification

Organism group	Biota
Ichnofossil group	Ichnofossils
	Bioturbation trace fossils
Genus	Conichnus
Species	conicus
	conosinus

References based on distribution

Landing et al., 2007 Grand Bank Head, Burin Peninsula, Canada Terreneuvian
Hanken et al., 2016 Ullerntangen, Ringerike, Norway Upper Ordovician
Männil, Ralf, 1966b Kiviõli Kukruse Stage
Männil, Ralf, 1966b Tõkke borehole Keila Stage
Männil, Ralf, 1966b Pääsküla Keila Stage
Männil, Ralf, 1966b Aluvere quarry Haljala Stage
Männil, Ralf, 1966b Rae Haljala Stage
Vinn et al., 2015d Valgu River Adavere Stage