Environmental distribution of trace fossils in the Jurassic of Kachchh (Western India)

Trace fossils occur abundantly in Middle Jurassic rocks of the Kachchh Basin. They are found in environments ranging from beach sequences down to central parts of the basin. For stratinomic reasons, they are particularly well preserved in storm deposits. Their distribution pattern exhibits a clear relationship to the hydrodynamic conditions and, secondarily, to bathymetry, and follows the classic ichnofacies concept ofSeilacher (1967). High energy nearshore areas and submarine shoals are represented by members of the Skolithos ichnofacies such as Ophiomorpha nodosa, Arenicolites, Diplocraterion parallelum, and Rhizocorallium jenense. The storm-influenced ramp contains both members of the Cruziana ichnofacies (e.g. Rhizocorallium irregulare, Thalassinoides suevicus, Taenidium serpentinum, Chondrites) and the Skolithos ichnofacies (in particular Ophiomorpha). The former were produced during interstorm phases, the latter are of post-storm origin. Carbonate ramp environments of low to intermediate energy also contain members of the Cruziana ichnofacies, whilst equivalent siliciclastic environments are characterized by a low-diversity Zoophycos ichnofacies. Low energy basinal environments of fine-grained substrates contain an impoverished Cruziana ichnofacies consisting of Chondrites, Trichichnus and Thalassinoides suevicus.