The trace fossil Cardioichnus planus from the lower Miocene of Algeria: the first record from Africa and a probable endemic tracemaker

Abstract

Abundant Cardioichnus planus SMITH & CRIMES, 1983 have been reported for the first time from Africa. They occur in lower Miocene deep-marine deposits near Tiaret in northwestern Algeria. Morphological features of the trace, coupled with the spatial interrelationships between Cardioichnus and the echinoids documented in this area, provide evidence that the endemic spatangoid Echinocardium nummuliticum PÉRON & GAUTHIER, 1885 represents the tracemaker of the studied C. planus. Cardioichnus is known from the upper Jurassic to the Pleistocene and it has a wide geographic and environmental distribution.