The fish swimming trace  Undichna unisulca  from the Silurian of Sweden: probably the oldest vertebrate locomotion trace fossil | Zendy

Knaust Dirk | Zendy; Minter Nicholas J. | Zendy

Open Access

The fish swimming trace Undichna unisulca from the Silurian of Sweden: probably the oldest vertebrate locomotion trace fossil

Author(s) -

Knaust Dirk,

Minter Nicholas J.

Publication year - 2018

Publication title -

lethaia

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 0.926

H-Index - 57

eISSN - 1502-3931

pISSN - 0024-1164

DOI - 10.1111/let.12272

Subject(s) - trace fossil , vertebrate , devonian , fish <actinopterygii> , geology , trace (psycholinguistics) , paleontology , biology , fishery , biochemistry , linguistics , philosophy , gene

The fish swimming trace Undichna unisulca is reported from a sandstone block collected from the Upper Silurian (Ludlow) Burgsvik Formation of Gotland, Sweden. It represents the oldest record of a vertebrate trace (apart from coprolites), predating previous finds from the Lower Devonian by at least 10 Ma. A thelodont or acanthodian fish may have produced the sinusoidal trails with the aid of their caudal or anal fins while browsing slowly over the sediment whilst searching for food.

The content you want is available to Zendy users.

Already have an account? Click here to sign in.

Having issues? You can contact us here

Accelerating Research