The fossil record of bioerosion

Bioerosion (the biological removal, abrasion, or dissolution of hard substrata) has produced a rich and behaviorally informative trace fossil record spanning the Archean to the Recent. We here present a comprehensive review of the fossil record of bioerosion based on an exhaustive survey of the ichnological literature through August 2026. Building on earlier syntheses, we compile and critically evaluate all currently valid bioerosional ichnogenera and ichnospecies, documenting their original authorship, substratum preference, inferred trace makers, architectural design, ichnofamilial assignment, and stratigraphic ranges resolved to, where possible, the stage level. The resulting database recognizes 151 valid bioerosional ichnogenera and 419 ichnospecies. Analyses of ichnodiversity and ichnodisparity of the bioerosion record shows that the most fundamental architectural designs of bioerosion were established by the end of the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event (GOBE), with relatively limited innovation thereafter. Ichnogenus diversity increased overall through the Phanerozoic, punctuated by major diversification pulses in the Late Ordovician, Late Triassic, Jurassic, and especially the Cretaceous. In contrast to body fossil patterns, most mass extinctions, including the end-Permian event, are weakly expressed in the bioerosional ichnogenus record, whereas the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary shows the most pronounced decline. These patterns underscore the resilience and recurrence of bioerosional behaviors through deep time.