Spurenfossilien aus dem Kulm (Unterkarbon) des Frankenwaldes

The present article characterizes the spectrum of ichnofossils in the Kulm-facies of the Franconian forest. 16 lchnogenera with 23 ichnospecies and 2 additional forms of uncertain taxonomic affinities are described and discussed. New ichnotaxa are Falcichnites n. ichnog. (with Falcichnites lophoctenoides n. ichnog. n. ichnosp.), Taxichnites n. ichnog. (with Taxichnites wumli n. ichnog. n. ichnosp.) and Megagrapton angulare n. ichnosp. Some forms appear relatively frequently and are not confined to a certain stratigraphic niveau, others are obviously limited to certain stratigraphic ranges (partly strato- and topotypic). Most of the discovered ichnofossils indicate an intensive economic feeding behaviour within a nutrient-limited environment which is characteristic for flysch sediments. Within the presented taxa, Dictyodora, Nereites, Lophoctenium, Paleodictyon, and Megagrapton are known to be representative for deep bathymetric regions of the Nereites ichnofacies.