What is Paleoichnology?
Paleoichnology is a branch of paleontology which deals with trace fossils, the markings left behind by animals as they bore, crawl, and walk through the natural environment. The study of paleoichnology can reveal interesting information about how these animals lived, adding substantially to the body of knowledge about prehistoric creatures. Ichnofossils, as they are called, can be found at many sites all over the world, ranging in size from mammoth footprints to fossilized borings betraying the travels of tiny organisms through thick mud. Ichnology is a field in biology which focuses on trace behaviors. Trace behaviors are things like tracks, borings, tunnels, burrows, shed hair or feathers, and even feces. Researchers who study trace behaviors use the information they gather to learn more about the creatures they study, sometimes making inferences from the traces they find. It is perhaps not surprising that this branch of biology began to be used by interested paleontologists, spawnin
