Invertebrate traces in soils and paleosols: a review of the classification, interpretation, and paleobiological purpose

Abstract

Ichnology studies the interactions between the organisms and the substrates where they lived, the structures formed as a result of these interactions, the behaviors of the trace makers and the characteristics of the substrates involve. These studies can be in the field of neoichnology (the study of modern traces) or paleoichnology (the study of their fossil counterparts). Throughout in this chapter we summarize basic concepts of ichnology focusing on invertebrate traces preserved in recent soils and paleosols of the Southern South America. We start by revising the classical ichnological concepts originating in marine environments and introducing their adaptations to the study of invertebrate traces (mainly insects) in continental environments. We review the concepts of ichnofacies and paleosols, their types and applications, and introduce the ichnoentomology discipline. Finally, we describe typical studies carried out in Argentina with modern traces as examples of the significant results that can be obtained from the neoichnology to understand fossil traces.