Burrows of Callianassa major Say, geologic indicators of littoral and shallow neritic environments

Burrows of the marine decapod, Callianassa major Say, are important structures in sand beaches along the coast from Florida to North Carolina. Abundant burrows, whose physical characteristics are described herein, can be seen in the low littoral zone and on offshore bars that are exposed at low tide. Detailed work in the area of Sapelo Island, Georgia, indicates that Callianassa major is confined to the high-energy littoral and shallow neritic environments. Sandstone of Pleistocene age at Racoon Bluff on Sapelo Island and at Sutherland Bluff on the Georgia mainland, 5 miles to the west, contains abundant structures that have been identified as burrows made by Callianassa major. These burrows establish that this Pleistocene sandstone was deposited in a littoral and shallow neritic environment. Structures, identified as Halymenites Sternberg or Ophiomorpha Lundgren and identical with Callianassa Leach burrows, in sandstones of Cretaceous age in the Rocky Mountain area presumably were formed by Callianassa or similar organisms. These fossils in the Upper Cretaceous rocks of Wyoming.