Trypanites

Trypanites is a narrow, cylindrical, unbranched boring which is one of the most common trace fossils in hard substrates such as rocks, carbonate hardgrounds and shells (Bromley, 1972). It appears first in the Lower Cambrian (James et al., 1977), was very prominent in the Ordovician Bioerosion Revolution (Wilson and Palmer, 2006), and is still commonly formed today. Trypanites is almost always found in calcareous substrates, most likely because the excavating organism used an acid or other chemical agent to dissolve the calcium carbonate (Taylor and Wilson, 2003). Trypanites is common in the Ordovician and Silurian hardgrounds of Baltica (Vinn et al. 2015).

Trypanites
Trace fossil classification
Ichnofamily:	†Trypanitidae
Ichnogenus:	†Trypanites Mägdefrau, 1932
Type ichnospecies
Trypanites weisei Mägdefrau, 1932
Ichnospecies
T. fosteryeomani Cole & Palmer, 1999 T. mobilis Neumann et al., 2008 T. solitarius (von Hagenow, 1840) T. weisei Mägdefrau, 1932
Synonyms
Clionoides Fenton & Fenton, 1932 Nygmites Mägdefrau, 1937 Conchifora Müller, 1968 Cylindrocavites Ghare, 1982 Anoigmaichnus Vinn et al., 2014

Trypanites borings in an Upper Ordovician hardground from northern Kentucky.

Trypanites borings in an Upper Ordovician hardground from northern Kentucky. The borings are filled with diagenetic dolomite (yellowish). Note that the boring on the far right cuts through a shell in the matrix.

Polished section of the Upper Ordovician bryozoan Amplexopora with clusters of Trypanites borings; northern Kentucky.

References

• Bromley, R.G. (1972). "On some ichnotaxa in hard substrates, with a redefinition of Trypanites Mägdefrau". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 46 (1–2): 93–98. doi:10.1007/bf02989555. S2CID 84389155.
• Cole, A.R., Palmer, T.J. (1999). "Middle Jurassic worm borings, and a new giant ichnospecies of Trypanites from the Bajocian/Dinantian unconformity, southern England". Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 10 (3): 203–209. doi:10.1016/S0016-7878(99)80070-4.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• James, N.P., Kobluk, D.R., Pemberton, S.G. (1977). "The oldest macroborers: Lower Cambrian of Labrador". Science. 197 (4307): 980–983. Bibcode:1977Sci...197..980J. doi:10.1126/science.197.4307.980-a. PMID 17784131. S2CID 10479154.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Taylor, P.D., Wilson. M.A. (2003). "Palaeoecology and evolution of marine hard substrate communities". Earth-Science Reviews. 62 (1–2): 1–103. Bibcode:2003ESRv...62....1T. doi:10.1016/S0012-8252(02)00131-9.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Vinn, O.; Wilson, M.A.; Toom, U. (2015). "Bioerosion of Inorganic Hard Substrates in the Ordovician of Estonia (Baltica)". PLOS ONE. 10 (7): e0134279. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1034279V. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0134279. PMC 4517899. PMID 26218582.
• Wilson, M.A., Palmer, T.J. (2006). "Patterns and processes in the Ordovician Bioerosion Revolution". Ichnos. 13 (3): 109–112. doi:10.1080/10420940600850505. S2CID 128831144.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)