A constructional model for Zoophycos

Zoophycos is a complex trace fossil. Hundreds of these fossils, very similar to the type ichnospecies, have been observed in Devonian to Cretaceous deposits. The detailed analysis of the characteristics of the traces has resulted in a detailed constructional model. The specimens of Zoophycos that we have studied were constructed upwards into the sediment. They are the result of a very efficient mining programme, corresponding to the sediment feeding activity of a supposedly sipunculid worm. The formation of lobes may be linked to the evolution of the trace-maker or to its ethology.