Tetrapod Footprint Paleoecology: Behavior, Taphonomy and Ichnofauna Disentangled. A Case Study From the Lower Permian of the Southern Alps (Italy)

Marchetti, Lorenzo; Tessarollo, Andrea; Felletti, Fabrizio; Ronchi, Ausonio

doi:10.2110/palo.2016.108

Cited by 14 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…This does not mean that the environment may not play an important role in the ichnofaunal composition of vertebrate footprint ichnoassociations, but it is rather evident that vertebrate footprint ichnotaxa are very faciescrossing (e.g. Marchetti et al, 2017c).…”

Section: Track Ichnotaxobasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining the morphological quality of fossil footprints. Problems and principles of preservation in tetrapod ichnology with examples from the Palaeozoic to the present

Marchetti¹,

Belvedere

Voigt³

et al. 2019

Earth-Science Reviews

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143

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The morphology of fossil footprints is the basis of vertebrate footprint ichnology. However, the processes acting during and after trace fossil registration which are responsible for the final morphology have never been precisely defined, resulting in a dearth of nomenclature. Therefore, we discuss the concepts of ichnotaphonomy, ichnostratinomy, taphonomy, biostratinomy, registration and diagenesis and describe the processes acting on footprint morphology. In order to evaluate the morphological quality of tetrapod footprints, we introduce the concept of morphological preservation, which is related to the morphological quality of footprints (M-preservation, acronym MP), and distinguish it from physical preservation (P-preservation, acronym PP), which characterizes whether or not a track is eliminated by taphonomic and diagenetic processes. M-preservation includes all the morphological features produced during and after track registration prior to its study, and may be divided into substages (ichnostratinomic, registrational, taphonomic, stratinomic, diagenetic). Moreover, we propose an updated numerical preservation scale for M-preservation. It ranges from 0.0 (worst preservation) to 3.0 (best preservation); intermediate values may be used and specific features may be indicated by letters. In vertebrate footprint ichnotaxonomy, we regard the anatomy-consistent morphology and to a lesser extent the trackway pattern as the only acceptable ichnotaxobases. Only footprints showing a good morphological preservation (grade 2.0-3.0) are useful in ichnotaxonomy, whereas ichnotaxa based on poor morphological preservation (grade 0.0-1.5) are considered ichnotaphotaxa (nomina dubia) characterized by extramorphologies. We applied the preservation scale on examples from the Palaeozoic to the present time, including three ichnotaphotaxa and 18 anatomy-consistent ichnotaxa/morphotypes attributed to several vertebrate footprint producers. Results indicate the utility, feasibility and suitability of this method for the entire vertebrate footprint record in any lithofacies, strongly recommending its use in future ichnotaxonomic studies.

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Section: Track Ichnotaxobasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining the morphological quality of fossil footprints. Problems and principles of preservation in tetrapod ichnology with examples from the Palaeozoic to the present

Marchetti¹,

Belvedere

Voigt³

et al. 2019

Earth-Science Reviews

Self Cite

143

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“…The succession is well exposed in the Pizzo Farno area (Fig. 2), where numerous vertebrate tracks are documented (Marchetti et al 2017) and where a detailed facies analysis was made with stratigraphic logs (Fig. 2c), and high-resolution sampling facies characterization was especially focused on the two types of carbonates occurring in the U-PDVd unit.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cabianca Volcanite) to between 280 ± 2.5 and 270 ± 2 Ma (see Berra et al 2015, for a discussion), corresponding to late Cisuralian to earliest Guadalupian. This age assignment raises some uncertainties in the correct attribution of the overlying Pizzo del Diavolo Formation, which appears to be older according to the palaeontological (vertebrate traces) content (Marchetti et al 2015(Marchetti et al , 2017. The Mt.…”

Section: Geological Outlinementioning

confidence: 97%

“…In some parts of the basin, ponds developed with water persisting for sufficient time to permit the development of shallowwater microbial carbonates. The presence of amphibians (documented by walking traces; Petti et al 2014;Marchetti et al 2017), that require the presence of still waters for the anamniotic egg survival, is clear evidence for the persistence of fresh water ponds. Fresh water basins were shallow as documented by the frequent alternation of carbonate and desiccation cracks associated with footprints (Marchetti et al 2017) and raindrop imprints.…”

Section: Constraints From the Stable Isotope Composition Of The Carbo...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The presence of amphibians (documented by walking traces; Petti et al 2014;Marchetti et al 2017), that require the presence of still waters for the anamniotic egg survival, is clear evidence for the persistence of fresh water ponds. Fresh water basins were shallow as documented by the frequent alternation of carbonate and desiccation cracks associated with footprints (Marchetti et al 2017) and raindrop imprints. The presence of syneresis cracks is also suggested, although most of the cracks seem to be related to partial (at the margins) or total desiccation of ponds.…”

Section: Constraints From the Stable Isotope Composition Of The Carbo...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Oncoids and groundwater calcrete in a continental siliciclastic succession in a fault-controlled basin (Early Permian, Northern Italy)

Berra

Felletti

Tessarollo

2019

Facies

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Lower Permian continental deposits of the fault-controlled Orobic Basin (Central Southern Alps; Northern Italy) include alluvial fan facies interfingering with muddy basin-floor deposits, consisting of three facies associations: heterolithic finegrained siliciclastic facies, laminated sandstone facies, and oncoidal limestone facies. Besides oncoidal and microbial limestones, carbonates occur as nodules in sandy tabular beds within the laminated sandstone facies association. Microfacies analyses distinguish several types of oncoidal carbonate (consisting of an alternation of microbial carbonate and fibrous calcite) and carbonate nodules. Each type of carbonate has been characterized in terms of δ 18 O and δ 13 C. The two types of carbonate in the oncoids record a stable δ 18 O and a slightly varying δ 13 C, whereas the isotope composition of the calcite in nodules is completely different. Carbonate nodules in sandy beds of the laminated sandstone facies association have a diagenetic origin as indicated by cross-cutting relationships between nodules and lamination; the nodules are interpreted as groundwater calcrete, formed in the subsurface at the top of the unconfined water table. The exclusive sedimentation of oncoidal carbonate facies within siliciclastic deposits indicates that when oncoids were formed in ephemeral shallow ponds, siliciclastic input was minimal. The sedimentological and geochemical characteristics of the studied succession and the stable isotopic composition of the oncoids (the absence of covariance between δ 18 O and δ 13 C excludes deposition in evaporating basins) indicate persistent stable conditions for sufficient time to permit growth of centimeter-sized oncoids. Oncoids are interpreted to have formed in spring-fed ponds and outflow channels, with flowing, clean water, at the toe of major alluvial fans. Episodes of rapid delivery of sand and silt-sized sediments by flash floods, with an oscillating water table, caused the observed facies alternation. The precipitation of calcareous cements close to the water table surface produced nodules in sandy layers. Carbonate precipitation within laminated sandstone reduced porosity and permeability, causing a strong compartmentalization in the well-bedded continental succession.

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Can undertracks show higher morphologic quality than surface tracks? Remarks on large amphibian tracks from the Early Permian of France

Marchetti¹

2018

J Iber Geol

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Tetrapod Footprint Paleoecology: Behavior, Taphonomy and Ichnofauna Disentangled. A Case Study From the Lower Permian of the Southern Alps (Italy)

Cited by 14 publications

References 49 publications

Defining the morphological quality of fossil footprints. Problems and principles of preservation in tetrapod ichnology with examples from the Palaeozoic to the present

Defining the morphological quality of fossil footprints. Problems and principles of preservation in tetrapod ichnology with examples from the Palaeozoic to the present

Oncoids and groundwater calcrete in a continental siliciclastic succession in a fault-controlled basin (Early Permian, Northern Italy)

Can undertracks show higher morphologic quality than surface tracks? Remarks on large amphibian tracks from the Early Permian of France

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