The Keys II: Krausichnidae and Pallichnidae

Abstract

This chapter contains updated keys, diagnoses, brief comparisons among similar ichnotaxa to identify and ichnotaxonomically classify insect trace fossils in paleosols grouped in the ichnofamilies Krausichnidae and Pallichnidae. Diagnoses are mostly modified from original ones to accommodate all ichnotaxa, to uniform the nomenclature used and to avoid any reference to extant structures or producers. Some ichnotaxonomical changes are proposed. 3D reconstructions are provided for all ichnotaxa. The chapter provides keys to separate ichnofamilies, ichnogenera and ichnospecies of Krausichnidae and Pallichnidae. It is intended to function as a guide to easily identify in the field insect trace fossils from paleosols.

“There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more precise measurement”(Lord William Thomson Kelvin 1900)

“Nevertheless, insect traces largely have been neglected for a long time. Paleontologists interested in ichnofossils principally as indicators of paleoenvironments have focused on marine trace assemblages. Entomologists were, and often still are, skeptical regarding the importance of ichnofossils. Unfortunately, exceptionally risky conclusions based on ichnofossils have supported this skepticism”(Vladimir Zherikhin 2003, Insect trace fossils, their diversity, classification and scientific importance)