A Wealth of Trace Fossils from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan!

[Pseudogygites]

Another day of great finds in Saskatoon! This time, some trace fossils. 

 

With my wonderful collaboration with the University of Saskatchewan's Museum of Natural Sciences still continuing, recently I have been very lucky to make multiple trips out to a beautiful site just outside the city of Saskatoon where massive deposits of glacial lake silt are exposed. This silt produces pristine grass and other plant fossils in abundance (I'd like to make a post about them soon as well), but also seems to be teeming with various invertebrate trace fossils. All are very small (under 1 centimetre wide). I've attached some of my best pictures below.

 

1 - 6: Overlapping Planolites sp. closeups

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 - 11: Edaphichnium sp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 - 14: Taenidium sp. closeups

 

 

 

 

15 - 16: Taenidium sp. wide shots

 

 

 

17: Taenidium sp. closeup

 

[Ludwigia]

You sure do have good eyes.

[Pseudogygites]

Here’s a shot of the wonderful prairie landscape surrounding the site!

 

Another picture of the Planolites sp..

 

Planolites sp. part and counterpart.

 

A nice Treptichnus sp. in convex hyporelief.

 

Treptichnus sp.

 

Treptichnus sp. in black and white for contrast. Note parallel drag marks on either side, particularly in the bottom-right corner of the photo as well as at the intersection between the two “wings” of the V-shape. This trace is identical to contemporary ones made by Chironomidae (midge) larvae. I assume these drag marks are likely from cerci on the end of the tail of the midge larva. Also note the “knots” or breaks in the trace in the upper left corner, made when the larva rose to the surface of the sediment before diving back down.

 

Edited September 13, 2023 by Pseudogygites

[Tidgy's Dad]

Very interesting thread.

Thank you.