Scoyenia gracilis White, 1929
Schlirf et al., 2001
Description: Short, slightly winding, undulose, tubular burrows, semi-circular in cross-section. Some ridges covered with five longitudinal winding, subparallel striae, each about 1 mm wide; entire burrows 5-6 mm wide and 20-35 mm long. Slightly rugose ridges of comparable
size, associated with the described form, are probably preservational variants of the same trace fossil.
Remarks: The external striation as well as the meniscate backfill are characteristic of Scoyenia. Monospecific Scoyenia, typified by S. gracilis, is regarded as burrow of deposit-feeding organisms in different non-marine environments, presumably in moist or wet substrates near water bodies, in periodically inundated areas, or in permanent, shallow subaqueous environments. Arthropods are favoured as possible producers, but insects or decapods can be excluded (FREY et al. 1984). Scoyenia occurs since the Permian (ScHwAB 1966).
Organism group | Biota |
Ichnofossil group | Ichnofossils |
Soft-sediment trace fossils | |
Genus | Scoyenia |
Species | beerboweri |
gracilis |