Morphological, ethological, and environmental significance of the ichnogenera Scoyenia and Ancorichnus

Scoyenia and Ancorichnus are interpreted as feeding structures, although certain details of the feeding-burrowing mechanism remain conjectural. Known occurrences of such trace fossils indicate that the tracemakers preferred moist or wet nonmarine substrates, whether shallow aquatic deposits periodically exposed to air or low-lying subaerial deposits periodically inundated by water.