Teichichnus duplex n. isp., new trace fossil from the Cambrian and the Triassic

A new ichnospecies, Teichichnus duplex, is designated for marine material from the Middle Cambrian Aleklinta Formation of the island of Öland, Sweden as well as material from Upper Triassic Keuper beds of the Germanic Basin of southern Germany. Despite the very different ages, the morphology of the trace fossils is so similar that the two occurrences may be placed within a single ichnospecies. The laminae comprising the spreite are formed as double grooves or gutters and commonly show ornamentation that may indicate scratching by arthropod tracemakers. The Triassic specimens are smaller than those from the Cambrian, but the morphology is identical, giving further support to the tenet that size is an unsuitable ichnotaxobase. The validity of Teichichnus pescaderoensis is questioned as it is based more or less simply on the size.