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ichnofossil

noun

  1. tructure formed in a sediment by the action of a living organism (e.g. a tube, burrow, footprint, or groove made by crawling across a surface) and preserved when the sediment becomes a sedimentary rock
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Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈɪknəʊˌfɒsəl/

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Ancient Greek ῐ̓́χνος (ĭ́khnos)der. English ichno- English fossil English ichnofossil From ichno- + fossil.

  1. A trace fossil; a fossil record that preserves some activity of an organism, but no part of the organism itself.

    For example, an ichnofossil might be the preserved track an animal, or its burrow.

    Suites of taphonomic factors that influence body fossils and ichnofossils are clearly not identical. Nonetheless, without too much twisting, ichnofossil-lagerstätten can be placed into the same genetic categories.