| Name | Definition |
| stromatolites | microlaminated sedimentary structure created by the life actions of algal mats |
| banded iron | a specific suite of iron-bearing sedimentary structures formed primarily during the Precambrian |
| ichnofossils | traces of once living organisms |
| Name | Activity | Definition |
| Repichnia | movement over a surface | trackways, worm crawling traces, swimming traces from bottom skimming swimmer, etc. |
| Fodichnia | feeding of deposit feeders | linear, U-shaped, branching, and sinuous burrows of all sorts |
| Pascichnia | feeding of grazer or surface deposit feeder | burrows tend to be in one plane, a "strip mining" trace |
| Domichnia | living burrow or boring | "living trace" of an organism |
| Cubichnia | temporary hiding burrow | "resting trace" of an organism |
| Fugichnia | escaping organism | formed by sometimes frantic organism trying to dig itself out - burrows therefore go "up" instead of "down" |
Stromatolites are micro-laminated sedimentary structures formed by life processes of algal mat organisms. Some of these microorganisms secrete a mucous sheet that traps loose sediment grains in the water column. The mat organisms then bind the grains to form a very thin layer. The stromatolite builds up from repeated iterations of this process. Precambrian stromatolites grew to quite massive size, but younger stromatolites tend to be cropped by grazing organisms, and only build into large structures in areas where grazers are excluded.
The bulk of banded iron was deposited in all of the world's ocean basins for a period of 200 million years during the Early Proterozoic. In places, these important ore deposits reach thicknesses of over 1.5 km. Banded iron is composed of bands of an iron ore mineral (usually hematite) interspersed with bands of a different composition (frequently jasper, but also other mineral).
Ichnofossils are the non-body remains of organisms. This group includes burrows, borings, tracks, and any other trace formed by the life activity of organisms. Ichnofossils are very important in determining the ecology of extinct organism - although it is not always possible to link a single ichnofossil to the organism that made it. Ichnofossils are also useful in paleoenvironmental analyses, and other sedimentary problems.
References
Ichnofossils
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Seilacher, A. 1967. Bathymetry of trace fossils. Marine Geology 5: 413-428.
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Banded Iron Formation, Stromatolites, and Other Evidence of Early Life
Awramik, S.M. and Baghoorn, E.S. 1977. The Gunflint microbiota. Precambrian Research 5: 121-142.
Bronner, G. and Chauvel, J.J. 1979. Precambrian banded iron-formations of the Ijil Group (Kediat Ijil, Reguibat Sheild, Mauritania). Economic Geology 74: 77-94.
Buick, R. 1992. The antiquity of exygenic photosynthesis: evidence form stromatolites in sulphate-deficient Archaen lakes. Science 255: 74-77.
Buick, R., et al 1981. Stromatolite recognition in ancient rocks. Alcheringa 5: 161-181.
Knoll, A.H. and Golubic, S. 1979. Anatomy and taphonomy of a Precambrian algal stromatolite. Precambrian Research 10: 115-151.
Knoll, A.H. 1985. Patterns of evolution in the Archaean and Protereozoic Eons. Paleobiology 11: 53-64.
Schopf, J.W., (ed.) 1983. Earth's earliest biosphere: Its origins and evolution. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Schopf, J.W., (ed.) 1983. Earth's earliest biosphere: Its origins and evolution. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Walker, M.R. (ed.) 1976. Stromatolites. Elsevier, Amsterdam.