Leon Meads Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 Some weird looking patterns in the rocks. I suspect it to be a trace fossil or a plant fossil but I am unsure. Does somebody know what they are? They are from northern Taranaki. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoast Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 Intetesting find! Large leaf impression would be my first guess. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave pom Allen Posted February 9, 2023 Share Posted February 9, 2023 zoophycus 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoast Posted February 9, 2023 Share Posted February 9, 2023 Ah, yes zoophycus, can't see the spiral in the photo and way bigger than the ones I find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted February 9, 2023 Share Posted February 9, 2023 I would almost say it triggers a leaf response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocket Posted February 9, 2023 Share Posted February 9, 2023 can you give some infos about the age and does it have fine-structures? Mainly the "ribs", do they have an internal structure? Can you identify fine structures between the ribs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted February 9, 2023 Share Posted February 9, 2023 Yes this is a partial Zoophycos trace fossil. They are common here in Tertiary silt deposits. Supposed to be an indicator of deep water, but as always with nature - there are complications. Read a paper recently that said they can occur in shallow water too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted February 9, 2023 Share Posted February 9, 2023 Here it is. I thought there was a more recent paper too. But couldn’t find it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted February 10, 2023 Share Posted February 10, 2023 55 minutes ago, Doctor Mud said: I thought there was a more recent paper too. But couldn’t find it. Here are a bunch of papers on Zoophycos described from New Zealand. Ekdale, A.A., Lewis, D.W. 1991 The New Zealand Zoophycos Revisited: Morphology, Ethology, and Paleoecology. Ichnos: An International Journal for Plant and Animal Traces, 1(3)183-194 Fordyce, E.W. 1976 Zoophycos from the Torlesse Supergroup, North Canterbury, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 19(2):289-291 Lewis, D.W. 1970 The New Zealand Zoophycos. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 13(2):295-315 PDF LINK Webby, B.D. 1969 Trace Fossils Zoophycos and Chondrites from the Tertiary of New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 12(1):208-214 PDF LINK Wetzel, A., 1992 The New Zealand Zoophycos Revisited: Morphology, Ethology, and Paleoecology–Some Notes for Clarification. Ichnos: An International Journal for Plant and Animal Traces, 2(1):91-92 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted February 10, 2023 Share Posted February 10, 2023 2 minutes ago, piranha said: Here are a bunch of papers on Zoophycos described from New Zealand. Ekdale, A.A., Lewis, D.W. 1991 The New Zealand Zoophycos Revisited: Morphology, Ethology, and Paleoecology. Ichnos: An International Journal for Plant and Animal Traces, 1(3)183-194 Fordyce, E.W. 1976 Zoophycos from the Torlesse Supergroup, North Canterbury, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 19(2):289-291 Lewis, D.W. 1970 The New Zealand Zoophycos. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 13(2):295-315 PDF LINK Webby, B.D. 1969 Trace Fossils Zoophycos and Chondrites from the Tertiary of New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 12(1):208-214 PDF LINK Wetzel, A., 1992 The New Zealand Zoophycos Revisited: Morphology, Ethology, and Paleoecology–Some Notes for Clarification. Ichnos: An International Journal for Plant and Animal Traces, 2(1):91-92 Thanks for tracking down all those papers on NZ Zoophycos I always love seeing these when I’m out on the coast. I thought the paper I read about zoophycos and water depth was more recent, but looks like its utility as a water depth indicator has been questioned for decades! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Meads Posted February 12, 2023 Author Share Posted February 12, 2023 On 2/10/2023 at 12:49 PM, Doctor Mud said: Yes this is a partial Zoophycos trace fossil. They are common here in Tertiary silt deposits. Supposed to be an indicator of deep water, but as always with nature - there are complications. Read a paper recently that said they can occur in shallow water too. Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Meads Posted February 12, 2023 Author Share Posted February 12, 2023 On 2/10/2023 at 1:51 PM, piranha said: Here are a bunch of papers on Zoophycos described from New Zealand. Ekdale, A.A., Lewis, D.W. 1991 The New Zealand Zoophycos Revisited: Morphology, Ethology, and Paleoecology. Ichnos: An International Journal for Plant and Animal Traces, 1(3)183-194 Fordyce, E.W. 1976 Zoophycos from the Torlesse Supergroup, North Canterbury, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 19(2):289-291 Lewis, D.W. 1970 The New Zealand Zoophycos. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 13(2):295-315 PDF LINK Webby, B.D. 1969 Trace Fossils Zoophycos and Chondrites from the Tertiary of New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 12(1):208-214 PDF LINK Wetzel, A., 1992 The New Zealand Zoophycos Revisited: Morphology, Ethology, and Paleoecology–Some Notes for Clarification. Ichnos: An International Journal for Plant and Animal Traces, 2(1):91-92 Wow, thanks a lot Piranha for the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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