Trace fossils from the Eocene Lillebælt Clay Formation, Røsnæs, Denmark

Abstract

A cliff exposure of the Eocene Lillebælt Clay Formation, on the Røsnæs peninsula of Zealand, Denmark, has yielded a diverse trace-fossil assemblage. The trace fossils are described formally for the first time and assigned to Phymatoderma melvillensis, unnamed clusters of small burrows, Ophiomorpha nodosa, Spongeliomorpha isp., Dreginozoum beckumensis, Bichordites isp., Chondrites isp., Atollites zitteli? and ?Rhizocorallium isp. The preservation of the trace fossils is strongly related to early diagenetic enhancement. The trace-fossil assemblage is dominated by a combination of dwelling and feeding burrows. The bioturbation took place in very clean clay of a shelf setting far offshore. The trace-fossil assemblage is indicative of the distal Cruziana ichnofacies.