 EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes
and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and
archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


 Trace Fossils in Hanover Formation

   October 07, 2021


    BurrowsHanoverShale

   Photographer:  James R. Ebert
   Summary Author:  James R. Ebert

   Unlike  body fossils (shells, bones, chitinous material, plant
   tissue, etc.), which are the actual remains of once living organisms,
    trace fossils or ichnofossils are marks (burrows, tracks, trails,
   etc.) made by the activity or behavior of an organism. This photo shows
   an abundance of burrows of the  ichnogenus Planolites in a bed of
   dark gray to black  shale in the  Hanover Formation, exposed in
   Sheridan Bay on Lake Erie, east of the city of Dunkirk, New York. The
   contrast between the sediment fill of the burrows and the surrounding
   shale is enhanced because the bed containing the burrows is wet owing
   to its position at lake level. Note that the trace-makers responsible
   for  Planolites were probably worm-like creatures that tunneled
   through the mud, ingesting the sediment, digesting the organic matter
   that it contained, and excreting the undigested sediment as fill in the
   tunnels behind the organisms. Photo taken on June 28, 2021
     * Dunkirk, New York Coordinates: 42.5186, -79.2686

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Geology Links

     *  Earthquakes
     *  Geologic Time
     *  Geomagnetism
     *  General Dictionary of Geology
     *  Mineral and Locality Database
     *  Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness
     *  This Dynamic Earth
     *  USGS
     *  USGS Ask a Geologist
     *  USGS/NPS Geologic Glossary
     *  USGS Volcano Hazards Program

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   Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the  Universities
   Space Research Association.

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