A Diverse Vertebrate Ichnofauna from a Quaternary Eolian Oolite, Rhodes, Greece

In coastal areas of the SW part of the island of Rhodes, Greece, eolian oolitic sediments represent the latest depositional phase, and are presumed to have a Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene age. The ooids have sand-size nuclei and are lightly cemented by vadose meniscus cement. In a road cut, supplemented by minor sections in small, ancient stone quarries nearby, the sedimentary architecture and trace fossils are visible. The dunes have ramp morphology and contain three horizons of paleosols that divide the eolian sediments into three units. The paleosols contain rhizoliths and poorly preserved invertebrate bioturbation. Vertical sections allowed representative measurements of 79 tracks and limited horizontal surfaces supplied four measured tracks. Five size classes of tracks are distinguished. The mode of preservation of the tracks is poor, probably on account of the oolitic nature of the substrate. The three smallest size classes are probably of artiodactyls. The largest class probably was produced by proboscidians. A bedding-plane view of one track indicates that the next-largest class may be the work of camels. If this is the case, and the bedding-plane specimen is convincing, it is the first record of Pleistocene or Early Holocene camels on Rhodes. The combination of size groups of tracks differs in the three units, demonstrating differences in faunal composition in the different periods of deposition of the oolite.