The fish swimming trace Undichna unisulca from the Silurian of Sweden: probably the oldest vertebrate locomotion trace fossil

Dirk Knaust, Nic Minter

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    Abstract

    The fish swimming trace Undichna unisulca is reported from a sandstone block collected from the Upper Silurian (Ludlow) Burgsvik Formation of Gotland, Sweden. It represents the oldest record of a vertebrate trace (apart from coprolites), predating previous finds from the Lower Devonian by at least 10 Ma. A thelodont or acanthodian fish may have produced the sinusoidal trails with the aid of their caudal or anal fins while browsing slowly over the sediment whilst searching for food.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)469-472
    Number of pages4
    JournalLethaia
    Volume51
    Issue number4
    Early online date8 May 2018
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Oct 2018

    Keywords

    • Trace fossil
    • Undichna
    • vertebrate
    • fish
    • Silurian
    • Sweden

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