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Skolithos - Western Australia The vertical structures which you can see weathering out of the sandstone are fossilised burrows, perhaps made by an ancient worm. Skolithos, as these burrows are called, are relatively common trace fossils, and generally indicate that the environment was high energy. The presence of sandstone, rather than mudstone, would support this interpretation. Sedg Image credit (non-commercial): Eric Baker (https://flic.kr/p/dfpnRt)
Trace Fossil The vertical tube in this rock is what geologists would call a trace fossil. It’s evidence of the action of life, but the organism that produced it isn’t preserved. Some of the most common trace fossil types are burrows or holes dug through dirt. Sediment serves a lot of purposes for life; it stores food and nutrients and also provides protection. These vertical channels are dug in the sediment by organisms that live in them. The most common type of these fossils is known as the “skolithos ichnofacies”, a group of vertical or even U-shaped burrow patterns dug in soft, wet sediment near shorelines. Since they’re dug into dirt that can eventually be lithified into rock, they’re easily preserved, making skolithos one of the most commonly preserved trace fossil types. In addition to skolithos, there are other types of organisms that produce similar vertical channels. I’m not an expert on classifying all trace fossils, so there’s probably a chance this is a different trace fossil type since all we’ve got here is a photo, but if it’s a different group, that’s what we have comments for . -JBB Image credit: https://flic.kr/p/brBgH4 Read more: http://paleo.cortland.edu/tutorial/Trace%20Fossils/tracefossils.htm http://www.es.ucl.ac.uk/tf/ichno.htm
Skolithos - Western Australia The vertical structures which you can see weathering out of the sandstone are fossilised burrows, perhaps made by an ancient worm. Skolithos, as these burrows are called, are relatively common trace fossils, and generally indicate that the environment was high energy. The presence of sandstone, rather than mudstone, would support this interpretation. Sedg Image credit (non-commercial): Eric Baker (https://flic.kr/p/dfpnRt)
