Taenidium (Heer, 1877)


DESCRIPTION: Serpentiform, unlined, unbranched burrows with evenly spaced, uniformly thick, weakly arcuate and uniform meniscae backfill; distance between meniscae about equal or a little less than burrow width. External molds may have slight annulation corresponding to meniscae or fine transverse wrinkling. Secondary subsequent branching and intersections may occur. The burrow boundary is sharp and sometimes lacks a continuous wall.

BEHAVIOR(S): Fodinichnia (deposit feeding).

ENVIRONMENTAL SETTINGS: Shallow to deep marine environments.

POSSIBLE TRACEMAKERS: Annelid worms or vermiform animal.

GEOLOGIC RANGE: Ediacaran-recent.

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES: Emended: D'Alessandro and Bromley, 1987, Uchman, 1998, Jensen, Droser, & Gehling 2006, Hammersburg et al. 2018, Oligmueller and Hasiotis 2024, Tiwari et al., 2011

REMARKS: Ichnogenus should be restricted to the morphologies of the type material (counter to Keighley and Pickerill, 1994). Menisci are less regular in shape and spacing than in Entradichunus and no evidence of roof collapse in the burrow. Meniscate backfill in Naktodemasis, composed of packets of thin and irregular meniscae, differs greatly from that of Taenidium.