What are the advantages of studying trace fossils?
An organism has the capability to leave thousands of prints in the fossil record yet the same individual could only contribute one skeleton. Many trace fossils are the result of the activity of soft-bodied creatures such as annelid (segmented) worms which are otherwise poorly represented in the fossil record. Trace fossils often cover much longer time ranges than body fossils as they are often made by similar organisms with similar behavior that spans long time periods. Trace fossils are preserved in situ this means that they represent behavior that occurred exactly where you find them Often trace fossils are common in clastic sedimentary rocks where body fossils are not present. Because behavior is often influenced by environmental factors this makes trace fossils excellent environmental indicators. The only real disadvantage with trace fossils is that it is not normally possible to identify the trace maker because the same creature can make a variety of different traces and equally d
