The Open Paleontology Journal




(Discontinued)

ISSN: 1874-4257 ― Volume 5, 2014

Neoichnology of Thyonella gemmata: A Case Study for Understanding Holothurian Ichnofossils



Krista R. Smilek1, 2, Daniel I Hembree*, 2
1 Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
2 Department of Geological Sciences, Ohio University, 316 Clippinger Laboratories, Athens, OH, 45701, USA

Abstract

While the fossil record of holothurians extends from the Cambrian to the Holocene, adequately evaluating their temporal and spatial distribution is difficult due to their poor preservation potential. Several extant holothurians, however, produce abundant shallow burrows that a have a high preservation potential. Neoichnological experiments allow for the direct observation of burrowing behaviors and the resulting biogenic structures. Data obtained from these experiments are invaluable to the interpretation of ichnofossils lacking associated body fossils. The burrowing behaviors of the holothurian Thyonella gemmata were studied in a laboratory setting under varying environmental conditions. Specimens were exposed to variations in grain size, salinity, and water temperature to assess their behavioral response to environmental change and any resulting biogenic structures. Thyonella gemmata burrows by intruding itself into the sediment using muscular contractions and limited use of tube feet. Thyonella gemmata contracts its body into a U-shape and maintains contact with the sediment surface. The resulting burrow is a wide, U-shaped concentration of disrupted sediment with or without spreite. Sediment size had the greatest effect on burrowing activity and morphology; individuals were able to easily burrow into fine- and medium-grained sand, but experienced difficulty in coarse-grained sand. Altering water temperature yielded no significant results. While increasing salinity had no effect, lowering salinity had an adverse physiological effect on the specimens and inhibited burrowing. Studying the varying burrow morphologies produced in these experiments will aid in the interpretation of potential holothurian ichnofossils and the interpretation of paleoenvironmental conditions.

Keywords: : Burrowing, trace fossil, echinoderm, marine, ichnology.

Article Information


Identifiers and Pagination:

Year: 2012
Volume: 4
First Page: 1
Last Page: 10
Publisher Id: TOPALOJ-4-1
DOI: 10.2174/1874425701204010001

Article History:

Received Date: 9/12/2011
Revision Received Date: 15/1/2012
Acceptance Date: 17/1/2012
Electronic publication date: 15/2/2012
Collection year: 2010

© Smilek and Hembree etal.; Licensee Bentham Open.

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http: //creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.


* Address correspondence to this author at the 316 Clippinger Laboratories, Department of Geological Sciences, Ohio University, USA; Tel: 740-597-1495; Fax: 740-593-0486; E-mail: hembree@ohio.edu


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