Species criteria in palaeontology and ichnology and the possibilities of using ichnofossils in geology

Abstract

Paleontology is a science between biology and geology thus paleontologists use both biological and geological approaches to solve different kinds of problems. One of the main issues for paleontologist is the use of species criteria and species identification. The fossil record shows evidence of evolution of separate phyla and the biosphere in general. A significant part of the biosphere is represented by soft-body animals. The marks of activities different animals have appeared in the fossil record at least from rocks of Ediacaran to modern age. They could be imprints of “sitting” or moving tracks (of invertebrates or vertebrates), evidence of birth (for instance, egg fragments), crawling traces of molluscs, etc. There are a plenty of issues regarding the identification of the nature of ichnofossils. Sometimes it is possible to identify animal species that left their traces or imprints. We observe ichnofossils on the surface and inside sedimentary rocks, but their identification is often impossible. Therefore, an artificial nomenclature is used for the naming of “species” of ichnofossils. Ichnofossils of different age and from various facial conditions are investigated on all continents. Ichnology as a relatively new branch of geology is developing due to the use of modern technological approaches.