Meanings
plural ichnotaxa
- biologyA grouping, analogous to a biological taxon, used to classify footprints, burrows or other trace fossils, and hence, indirectly, the organisms that might have produced them.
Ichnotaxa are names used to identify and distinguish morphologically distinctive ichnofossils, more commonly known as trace fossils. The binomial names of ichnospecies and their genera are to be written in italics.
3 more examples
It is important to note here that exactly the same ichnotaxon co-occurs with phosphatized soft-tissues in schizodont bivalves of the same age (Klug et al., 2005).
2007, Christian Klug et al., “10: Soft-tissue Attachment of Middle Triassic Ceratitida from Germany”, in Neil H. Landman, Richard Arnold Davis, Royal H. Mapes, editors, Cephalopods Present and Past, Springer, page 208Parallel to the osteological record of phytosaurs, the ichnotaxon Apatopus lineatus reflects a widespread group of archosaurs living in habitats that only randomly overlapped those of fully terrestrial chirotherian trackmakers.
2013, Hendrik Klein, Spencer G. Lucas, “The Late Triassic tetrapod ichnotaxon Apatopus lineatus (Bock 1952) and its distribution”, in Lawrence H. Tanner, Justin A. Spielmann, Spencer G. Lucas, editors, The Triassic System, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, page 313In a note, Donovan (2015) cast doubt on the establishment of the ichnotaxon K. crusta by Klompmaker et al. (2014) for the branchial swellings exemplified in Figure 1.
2015, Adiël A. Klompmaker, Geoff A. Boxshall, “6: Fossil Crustaceans as Parasites and Hosts”, in Tim Littlewood, Kenneth De Baets, editors, Fossil Parasites, Elsevier (Academic Press), page 242
Origin
- Ancient Greekῐ̓́χνος (ĭ́khnos)
- Englishichno-
- Englishtaxon
- Englishichnotaxon
Cite this entry
ichnotaxon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ichnotaxon
“ichnotaxon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ichnotaxon. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ichnotaxon,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ichnotaxon.
Source: ichnotaxon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.