Paleodictyon (Meneghini, 1850)

DESCRIPTION: Thin tunnels and shafts forming a hexagonal- to polygonal-shaped honeycomb-like network of ridges or furrows.

BEHAVIOR(S): Agrichnia (gardening): burrow system used for cultivating and trapping bacteria and other microbes.

ENVIRONMENTAL SETTINGS: Shallow to deep marine.

POSSIBLE TRACEMAKERS: Burrowing marine animals, such as worms or vermiform organism.

GEOLOGIC RANGE: Cambrian – recent

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES: Emended by Uchman 1995, Archer and Maples 1984, Pickerill, 1990, Crimes and Fedonkin 1994, Wetzel 2000, Fürsich et al. 2007.

REMARKS: Though found most commonly in deep-sea settings, Paleodictyon evolved in shallow marine environments during the early Cambrian and later migrated to deep marine environments by the Late Cambrian. Paleodictyon has been reported in Mesozoic and Cenozoic shallow marine deposits, and rarely in post-Cambrian Paleozoic shallow marine deposits.


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