Trypanites
| Trypanites | |
|---|---|
| Trace fossil classification | |
| Ichnofamily: | †Trypanitidae |
| Ichnogenus: | †Trypanites Mägdefrau, 1932 |
| Type ichnospecies | |
| Trypanites weisei Mägdefrau, 1932 | |
| Ichnospecies | |
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| Synonyms | |
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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. It appears first in the Lower Cambrian, was very prominent in the Ordovician Bioerosion Revolution, 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. Trypanites is common in the Ordovician and Silurian hardgrounds of Baltica.