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Knaust & Minter, 2018

The fish swimming trace Undichna unisulca from the Silurian of Sweden: probably the oldest vertebrate locomotion trace fossil

Knaust, D., Minter, N. J.
DOI
DOI10.1111/let.12272
Year2018
JournalLethaia
Volume51
Number4
Pages469-472
Typearticle in journal
LanguageEnglish
Id7894

Abstract

The fish swimming trace Undichna unisulca is reported from a sandstone block collected from the Upper Silurian (Ludlow) Burgsvik Formation of Gotland, Sweden. It represents the oldest record of a vertebrate trace (apart from coprolites), predating previous finds from the Lower Devonian by at least 10 Ma. A thelodont or acanthodian fish may have produced the sinusoidal trails with the aid of their caudal or anal fins while browsing slowly over the sediment whilst searching for food.

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