Trace fossil · Dwelling

Skolithos

Nearly vertical, cylindrical burrows, about straw-sized and typically unlined in the textbook description (Wikipedia notes a distinct lining in some). Up to about 35 cm long and 5 cm wide. Densely packed tubes make 'pipe rock', as in northwest Scotland.

Behavior

Dwelling

Likely maker

Many different organisms. Funnel-shaped openings suggest filter- or suspension-feeding burrowers.

Age range

Early Cambrian to the present; some vertical Skolithos are also reported from the Ediacaran.

Setting

Mostly shallow marine sands near shorelines; also lake and braided-river deposits, rarely carbonates. Name-bearer of the Skolithos ichnofacies (shifting sand, moderate to high energy).

Photos are hosted by their original sites and shown under their open licenses (CC BY, CC BY-SA, public domain or Open Government Licence). Click a photo for its source page.

All trace fossils Ichnofacies