ichnologia
Ichnologia, commonly titled ichnology, is the scientific study of trace fossils—such as footprints, burrows, borings, feeding marks, and nests—preserved in sedimentary rocks. Unlike body fossils, traces reveal the behavior, activity, and interactions of ancient organisms, often providing indirect evidence of the organism's identity and the environment in which it lived.
Considered a distinct branch of paleontology, ichnology uses its own ichnotaxonomy—taxonomic categories called ichnogenera and ichnospecies—to
The field derives from Greek ichnos meaning trace and logia meaning study. It emerged in the 19th
Methods combine field logging of trace fossils with sedimentary context, morphologic analysis, comparative ichnology, and, increasingly,
Familiar ichnogenera include Skolithos, a vertical burrow; Cruziana, scratch marks on bedding surfaces; Diplichnites, paired tracks;
Ichnology informs sedimentology, paleoecology, and sequence stratigraphy and remains important to petroleum geology for interpreting reservoir