The Origins and Ecology of Early Paleozoic Spreiten Ichnofossils: Comparisons of Daedalus and Syringomorpha with Alectorurus

Abstract: The Cambrian explosion not only shaped the ecosystems of the Phanerozoic, but fundamentally changed how biota interacts with the environment, including the substrate. Cambrian trace fossils Alectorurus and Syringomorpha as well as Ordovician-Silurian Daedalus represent novel modes of faunal interaction with the newly innovated shallow marine mixed-ground and have surprisingly limited stratigraphic ranges. This study investigates vertically oriented spreiten trace fossils from the Armorican Quartzite Formation near Castañar de Ibor, Spain and the File Haidar Formation near Hällekis, Sweden. Site and trace fossil description was conducted to compare and contrast their morphology, ecological relationships, and potential affinities. While all these fossils feature J-shaped vertically oriented spreiten structures, Alectorurus is the most closely comparable Cambrian ichnofossil to the largely Ordovician Daedalus due to their similarity in overall size, morphology, and sedimentary environment. Alectorurus represents the earliest known occurrence of animal behavior comparable to Daedalus within similar facies. This short-lived ichnofossils may have gone extinct due to complexifying trophic chains in the shallow marine realm as brought forth from heightened predation and land-plant derived organics. Interpretations of the affinity of Daedalus, regarding the construction, and ecological niche can be extended to Alectorurus and may be used to help piece together the construction, ecology and affinities of these enigmatic Cambrian and Ordovician trace fossils.