Crossed tracks: Mesolimulus, Archaeopteryx, and the nature of fossils

Paleobiology and philosophy

“…However, Finkelman's paper is the first to put parataxonomies in central focus. He argues that although "there are no particular structural or historical features that consistently distinguish body fossils from ichnofossils" (Finkelman 2019), it seems the distinction relies on how the fossils are identified. Part of the story is that ichnofossils are more of the geological realm-they are often employed to explain otherwise confusing geological phenomena-while body fossils are the realm of paleobiologists interested in how the animals lived.…”