FROM ABELICHNUS TO ZOOPHYCOS: AN ONLINE CATALOGUE OF ICHNOTAXA

The last Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology dealing with Ichnotaxonomy—Part W (Revised and Enlarged) Miscellanea, Supplement 1, Trace Fossils and Problematica—was published in 1975. Since then, no publication(s) compiling and evaluating all known invertebrate ichnotaxa into one source has been produced, and no one has ever compiled all known vertebrate ichnotaxa into one source. The IchnoBioGeoScience (IBGS) Research Group at the University of Kansas, Geology Department, seeks to accomplish these tasks. A catalogue of ichnotaxa is provided online at our website, www.ichnology.ku.edu, which is currently under construction. This is an evergreen project–­–to be updated continuously––that is open to input from anyone with interest in ichnology and organismal behavior. Ichnotaxa will be organized in alphabetical order and subdivided by interpreted tracemaker: microbial, plant, invertebrates, and vertebrates––fish, amphibians, nondinosaurian reptiles, dinosaurs, birds, and mammals (including therapsids). All ichnotaxa will have the following information: name; reference that erected the ichnotaxon; any junior synonym(s) that may be a part of the ichnotaxon; geologic range; description; interpreted behavior; environment(s) in which it is found; possible tracemaker(s); and additional references, including references that emend the ichnotaxon. Each ichnotaxon will be illustrated with one or more images as photographs and/or line drawings. The website also has individual pages tailored to particular concepts in ichnology and related materials, including: 1) an introduction to ichnology; 2) ichnocoenoses and ichnofacies models; 3) tiering and ichnofabrics; 4) a glossary; 5) videos, anaglyphs, and animations; 6) references to modern and ancient tracemaking organisms; and 7) links to other ichnological websites. The main objective of the KU ichnology website is to provide access and awareness of ancient and modern behavioral information to the general public, as well as to educational institutions of lower (i.e., K–12) and higher (i.e., collegiate) learning. For example, videos of modern burrowing behaviors and neoichnological experiments (e.g., ant farms) can be used in the classroom to help students learn about organism behavior and the hidden biodiversity that exists below their feet.