DAEDALUS HALLI: A FOSSIL BIOFILM HARVESTER FROM THE LOWER ARENIGIAN, MONTAGNE NOIRE, FRANCE

The Lower Arenigian of the Montagnge Noire in France records a shallow-marine, siliciclastic coastal environment. We distinguish a distal and proximal shelf, a barrier system, a lagoon, and a shore line. High energy settings are characterized by amalgamated quartzite bars. Here we detected a great abundance of Daedalus halli. The distribution pattern and morphology of this trace fossil suggests an unusual locomotion and feeding strategy using the entire body surface for the harvest of biofilms. This is in contrast to trace fossils that seem to relate to ancient microbial mats atop sedimentary surfaces. This study may serve to identify ancient biofilm harvesting communities in the fossil record.